The Mysterious and the Mischievous
by Miss Rigby
Summary: -COMPLETE- The misadventures of two American witches at Hogwarts during the most tumultuous year of their lives. (SSOC DMOC) Thanks to BURN THE R.U.M for the spiffy title! PLEASE review!
1. Two New Students

Hey all!  After much time chasing down the plot bunnies, I have finally been able to work on this story!  I was reading through it and for several reasons decided it needed big changes.  So here they are, all changed and waiting for you to read!  Please enjoy the revised version of The Mysterious and Mischievous without any more annoying comments from me!  ^_-

~Chapter One- Two New Students~

                "See?  He's that one over there."

                "Ew!  That big stocky one?"

                "No!  The one in between the stocky ones.  With the blonde hair?"

                Two young witches sat in the back of a train compartment rumbling on its merry way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  While most Hogwarts students had been having a grand old time greeting old school friends and sitting together on the locomotive, no one recognized these two girls.  That would have been quite impossible, seeing as these two girls had come from America only a month ago.

                The first girl, seated by the rain-streaked window, was tall and skinny, with black hair as straight and unkempt as sticks.  The other girl, the one referring to the boy with blonde hair, was shorter and with a seemingly better disposition.

                "Do you see him yet, Lindsey?" she asked the other girl exasperatedly.

                "Yes, I see him now," Lindsey Wormtongue, the dark-haired girl, conceded, nodding.

                "Isn't he cute?" the first girl, Cari Green, squeaked indulgently.  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry; I'll stop," she said with a laugh at the exaggerated eye roll from her friend.

                "So who is this kid now?" Lindsey asked.

                 "Draco Malfoy.  He's the son of Lucius Malfoy a rather, erm, prominent member of the Death-eater community," Cari whispered secretively.

                Lindsey nodded, though she had no idea what Cari was talking about.  Lindsey had only just found out that she was a witch at the beginning of the summer just past.  She had been an orphan as long as she could remember, living in a group home for awhile, then simply living on the streets of New York City, so she had never exactly had the opportunity to receive an invitational letter like Cari had, and like all of the students at Hogwarts had.  She knew little about the wizarding world at all; what she did know was what the Greens, Cari's family, had told her, when they informally adopted her last summer upon finding out she was a witch.

                Cari however, knew much about wizarding, as neither of her parents was a muggle, nor muggle-born, and her father was even an auror, the reason for their sudden move to England, and also the reason of her knowledge of the Malfoys.  Previously, in America, Cari had attended a school similar to Hogwarts in Salem, Massachusetts.

                Through odd enough circumstances, the Greens had met Lindsey in New York City, en route to England, though Cari's mother was to stay in the US.  Over the summer, Cari had taught Lindsey as much of the rudimentary knowledge she thought she could handle, so she had a vague outline of the basics, for the most part.  And now they were both here, on the train to Hogwarts, ready or not.

                "Lindsey…  Lindsey, wake up; we're here!"

                Groggily, Lindsey sat up, and Cari stopped shaking her.  Apparently she had fallen asleep on the train, and now the sky was dark and only a light soaking drizzle fell.

                The two girls exited the train and followed the slightly shorter group of first years (as they still needed to be Sorted into houses) towards a giant of a man with a lantern, who led them into boats which swam off on their own across the lake.

                When the great castle came into sight even the usually cool and composed Cari had to look up in utter awe.  The two fifteen-year-olds and the young first years all watched in rapt anticipation as the many lights in the castle windows drew ever nearer.

                "Wait, Cari- what's Sorting?  What's Sorting?!"  Lindsey tried to ask her friend as they were swept into a huge hall and made to form an alphabetical line.

                But before Cari could answer, her name was called and she was made to go towards the front of the line.  Lindsey, being in the W's, was much nearer the end of the line and had a bit more to wait.

                "Save me a seat when you get to the table!" she yelled as Cari went towards the other G's.

                "I see you remember that we get to start out the year with a meal," she said amusedly.  "Hey, we might not even get to be in the same House, you know."

                At this Lindsey gave her a look of such terror it was almost comical.

                About ten minutes more and the line was alphabetized and everyone ready.  Cari had already struck up a conversation with the two witches next to her.  However Lindsey just stood awkwardly, at least two heads taller than the two wizards next to her, who looked equally as tense.

                And then the sorting began.


	2. First Looks at Hogwarts

~Chapter Two- First Looks at Hogwarts~

                As the line of students walked into the Great Hall Cari's eyes widened and Lindsey all but died.  The room was huge- no, that's a gross understatement.  And it was absolutely full to bursting with tables upon tables of hungry students.  At the far end was a raised platform where they assumed the professors of the school were sitting.  And in front of that was a single stool and a tattered, sad looking, old hat.

                Lindsey stared quizzically at the hat and tried to catch Cari's eye.  She wished she had paid a lot more attention during her "lessons" in the summer.  Still, Lindsey did not have much time to puzzle, for the Sorting Ceremony began.

*   *   *

                Cari stood up as straight as she could and looked around the room avidly.  The building excitement was finally getting to her, and she no longer felt nervous, but ready to take on the world.  Or at least the school.  As the strange, musty Sorting Hat went dutifully through the A's, she studied the Great Hall.  The first thing she noticed was the ceiling.  Well, at first she thought there wasn't one, but then realized it was just enchanted to mirror the sky outside, which was dark and blank.  She then turned her eyes towards the people filling the vast hall.

                After a few moments of steady gazing she had picked out which tables were of which houses; the Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs.  Then she looked at them more closely, at specific people sitting there.  She caught sight of the white-blonde hair and cool expression of one Draco Malfoy, and her pulse instantly increased.  _Oh stop being stupid, _she chastised herself,_ There's no way you'll ever get to be with him… it's just not possible.  _

                Cari shook her head to clear her mind of these thoughts, at least for now, and looked towards the platform where the teachers were seated.  She saw Albus Dumbledore: most impressive, she had to admit.  She really didn't know the other professors; when her family had first found out that her father was being sent to England to work for the Ministry of Magic, Cari had been in denial.  Then the summer months came and they moved to New York temporarily, and it finally sunk in: she was moving to England.  So although just to be difficult she blatantly refused to remember most of what her father told her of the school, she did remember Dumbledore.  And then of course she had had to learn more so she could seem knowledgeable to Lindsey.  But Lindsey was a whole other story…

                Cari stole a glance back at her a ways down the line.  She was slouching and staring at her shoes, no doubt wishing she could blend in with the wall.  Although Cari didn't know as much about Lindsey as Lindsey knew about her, (she had an uncanny ability to read people.  It was downright scary sometimes) Cari could still tell a few things about her enigmatic amigo.  Right now, as Cari had guessed, she was being "invisible".  Cari didn't know how she could do it, or why she would want to, but her friend had a way of becoming just plain enough and just ordinary enough that any onlooker's eye, unless specifically searching for her, would pass her right by.  Cari was slightly envious of this bizarre talent; she could never do anything but stand out.

*   *   *

                As the ceremony droned on, Lindsey focused most of her energy on trying to be invisible.  She had sensed right away the many curious stares of the other students at Cari and herself, and who could blame them?  It still made Lindsey terribly uncomfortable though.

                She had looked around the Great Hall quite a bit at first, brushing over most of the students.  Then she caught sight of Draco Malfoy and instantly thought of Cari.  Subconsciously she glanced over at her friend.

                Coincidentally that was when Cari first saw Draco too, and although no one else saw, Lindsey smiled knowingly as Cari's cheeks filled with rosy color.  She shook her head, still smiling, then looked up at the teachers' tables on the high platform.  Albus Dumbledore was quite a striking figure, that was her first thought.  She did actually remember who he was, but really only because she had gotten his card in a Chocolate Frog on the train.  Her eyes breezed over the other teachers, thinking idly how she wished she could sit down, when her gaze happened upon a teacher looking quite different from the rest.

                He was dark and brooding, seeming to have a shadow around him.  If Lindsey could do only one thing perfectly, that was to read people and situations.  It was like a gift.  She had known Cari about two and a half months and already knew more about her than she may have known about herself.  _That's the kind of teacher I can relate to, _Lindsey thought, then shook her head inwardly.  _Not going to happen,_ she told herself.  _You're just going to pass through everything unnoticed, all the attention on Cari, and you're going to like it, as usual._  She could even read herself, which ironically most people cannot.

                As she gazed through her hair at the teachers' table, the eyes of the professor in question happened on hers.  She promptly looked down.  Eye contact really wasn't her thing.  Luckily, the first name was then called, and she simply studied the floor and risked secret glances around the room as name after name was read off, and house after house was assigned.


	3. The Sorting of Cari Green

~Chapter Three- The Sorting of Cari Green~

                Severus Snape watched impassively as the first years began to get sorted.  Every year it was the same thing, and he was admittedly rather bored.  He looked idly through the line, trying to make guesses as to whether there would be any good Slytherins therein.

                No one was really jumping out at him, until his eyes fell upon one slightly taller and quite a bit older than the others.  Ah, so this was one of the new students Dumbledore had mentioned to them.  He studied her momentarily.  She stood up straight in her new black robes, her shoulder-length reddish-brown hair neatly brushed and shiny, and her cheeks pink.  Although not very tall she was slender and well proportioned.  She seemed the kind of girl with a bright spirit and a lot of charisma, confidence, and potential.  The kind that made him sick.  He grudgingly admitted to himself that she was quite pretty, but most of the pretty students he could think of were as dumb as mud.  She didn't strike him as Slytherin material, on the surface at least, although he could see the trademark shrewd gleam in her green-brown eyes.

                The Hat had now started sorting the C's as Snape's eyes skipped over the other nondescript first years to pick out the other new arrival.  This one was quite a bit down the line, and much easier to spot.  She was very tall, but also painfully thin and slightly awkward.  Her short, choppy hair was jet black and hung lankly in her face.  Her skin was pale, almost completely colorless.  Her robes were a dull, worn, tired black, and were ridiculously long, even for her.  Snape almost disregarded her then and there as being just another nobody… until she finally glanced up.

                She looked right at him and he caught her eye for the briefest of seconds before she cast her eyes back down at her shoes.  If everything else about her was plain, colorless, and shy, her eyes were alive and burning like fire, even in that tiny flash he had had of them.  They were black, or perhaps darkest brown, and full of life and calculating intelligence.  _Oh, this one must be a Slytherin, _he thought.

*   *   *

                Cari walked proudly to the stool, sat down primly, and placed the hat on her head self-assuredly.  Instantly a voice sounded as if in her own head which would have made her jump had she not been prepared.

                "_So, a new student, ey?" _the voice murmured.  "_Let's see, from __America__, hmmmm..."  _There was a pause.  "_Well, I can tell right away that you're very smart, perfect Ravenclaw material.  Then again, you're also very brave and courageous, Gryffindor traits.  On the other hand, you've got quite a cunning wit and ambition- ideal Slytherin.  And I can also sense your unending loyalty which would make you a grand Hufflepuff; got a friend still waiting to be sorted, perhaps… well, no matter.  Let me see now, you are a tough one… haven't had one that could be in all four houses in some time.  But no, I think you'll get along best in… RAVENCLAW!"_  

                The last word was shouted across the hall, as it had been for all the other students, and Cari took off the hat beaming with pride.  She had secretly been hoping to get in that House.  Cari slid gracefully off the stool and stole a glance at Lindsey as she walked towards the Ravenclaw tables, erupting in cheers, and saw her flash a rare grin.

*   *   *

                Lindsey had finally looked up for more than a furtive glance when she heard her friend's name called.  She tried not to laugh as she saw her puff up more and more as whatever was going on under that hat filled her with pride.  

                The hat stayed on for about five minutes, then finally the hat yelled out, "Ravenclaw!" and the Hall echoed with cheers.  Lindsey allowed the corner of her mouth to turn up as Cari caught her eye and applauded along with the others.  Now however, her nervousness increased.  She had to be sorted into Ravenclaw, she **had **to.  She was dreadfully shy and loathed meeting new people all alone.  However, if Cari was with her…

                She shook her head and hoped upon hope that she would get into Ravenclaw.


	4. The Sorting of Lindsey Wormtongue

~Chapter Four- The Sorting of Lindsey Wormtongue ~

                Fifteen letters later, Lindsey stood awkwardly at the front of the line.  At the echoing sound of the name Lindsey Wormtongue, she skulked towards the stool.  About half way there she caught her foot on the hem of her outrageously long robes and nearly did a face plant.  Laughter from the tables ensued causing a touch of color to very nearly come to her pallid face.  She sat quickly and gracelessly onto the stool and yanked the Sorting Hat onto her head, covering her eyes.  Snape was caught between his common derisive laughter and pity.  Although pity was highly out of character for him, there was something about this girl that reminded him uncannily of a younger version of himself…

*   *   *

                Lindsey jumped and gave a slight gasp as a voice sounded suddenly in her head.  The voice chuckled slightly, then began to speak.

                "_Well, no question, I'd definitely say you were a Slytherin".  _A pause.  "_Yes, no doubt about it, SL-"  _

The hat had just been about to yell the House name out for all to hear when Lindsey frantically thought, _Oh no, no, please not there!  _

To her surprise the Sorting Hat stopped and said, "_Not there, ey?  Where would you choose instead then, I wonder…" _

Lindsey squeezed her eyes shut, hoping with all her might.  _Ravenclaw, please, please, Ravenclaw! _she begged inwardly.  

                "_Ravenclaw…?  Ah, so you're the friend our other new student was thinking of.  Well, if you really want it that badly; you'd make a marvelous Slytherin, you know…" _

_                 Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw…  _

_                "Alright, alright, I heard you the first time.  RAVENCLAW!"_

                Lindsey practically melted with relief.  She took off the hat and bounded unceremoniously towards the uproarious Ravenclaw tables where Cari was already shoving people aside to make room for her.  But before she sat down she did happen to glance up and catch a brief shadow of disappointment cross the dark professor's face, although most everyone else missed it.  However she did not get to ponder this for long as she was swept up in a big hug from Cari.

*   *   *

                Snape had been quite confident he would be gaining a Slytherin, and felt a slight twinge of disappointment at the sound of "Ravenclaw!"  What did he care whether this no-account girl was in his House or not?  He really didn't know… or did he?

*   *   *

                Cari and Lindsey were quite nearly overwhelmed by all the excited chatter greeting them at the Ravenclaw table.  A tall, strong girl with straw-blonde hair took it upon herself to take charge.

                "I'm Kristin Applegate," she said with a smile, shaking both Cari and Lindsey's hands each in turn.  "I'm a seventh year here.  Over there are Pippy Monaghan and Rachel Benjamin."  Kristin indicated a quiet-looking girl with a kind smile and another with long, wavy blonde hair.

                "Rachel's a sixth year," Kristin went on.  "You guys are fifth years, aren't you?  Really?  Wow, I guessed right…  Well, Pippy's a fifth year, and so is Lisa over here; this is Lisa Turpin."  Here Kristin indicated a spunky-looking girl with a boyish haircut and a very artistic air who waved and smiled.

                Kristin seemed about ready to start in again when a sudden hush fell over the Hall.  All eyes turned to the platform where Dumbledore stood, waiting to speak.  As soon as everyone was silent he began.

                "The first thing I'd like to say to you all is welcome; welcome back, or welcome to your first year here at Hogwarts.  Now, seeing as all I'd really like to do right now is eat, I'm just going to say two things.

                "The first, as I'm sure you've noticed, are our two new fifth year students just sorted into Ravenclaw, Cari Green and Lindsey Wormtongue.  They have both moved here from America quite recently, and I know you'll all do your best to help acclimate them."

                Nearly all eyes in the Hall had turned to them now.  Cari met them all while Lindsey shrank slightly, although not as much as if Cari hadn't been beside her.

                Dumbledore cleared his throat slightly and continued, "The second item: your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Balbossa!"

                At this a young and quite charming man at the end of the table stood and bowed extravagantly, then smiled the most mischievous smile anyone had ever seen a teacher give.  Lindsey fleetingly saw the dark professor roll his eyes with marked annoyance, and just barely stifled a laugh.  All the other female students in the Hall exchanged glances with her friends and not a giggle or two before Dumbledore finished with:

                "And now I believe you have everything you need to know right now so… dig in!"

                At these last words the tables in the Hall creaked under the sudden weight of thousands of plates brimming with food.

                "Are you sure this is Hogwarts, Cari?" Lindsey asked, eyes wide and staring at the huge amount of sustenance.

                "What are you talking about?" Cari asked confusedly, digging into some chicken.  "Of course this is Hogwarts, crazy!"

                "Really?  Because it feels like I've died and gone to Heaven."


	5. Welcome to Ravenclaw

~Chapter Five- Welcome to Ravenclaw~

                The meal had to have been the most pleasant (and largest) meal Cari and Lindsey had ever had, and Lindsey certainly wasn't far from the truth with her earlier comment.

                After everyone had eaten perhaps past their hearts content Dumbledore stood again to speak.  This time it was much more routine announcements and Lindsey couldn't help but neglect to listen.  He spoke for maybe five or ten minutes, then the plates all disappeared and the students dismissed.

                Before Lindsey could even ask, Kristin voiced the answer to her question with, "Here, I'll show you guys to the Ravenclaw dorms.  I was made a prefect this year, you know, so it's really my responsibility…"  Kristin kept up a steady stream of chatter as the group of students followed her up and up to the common room in Ravenclaw tower on the west side of the castle.

                As they walked Lindsey took the opportunity to whisper, "Hey, Cari, what's a prefect?"

                Cari just sighed and shook her head, rolling her eyes inwardly.

                Soon enough they came upon a large painting of a battered and bruised knight holding his dented helmet under his arm.

                "Alright, our password is… istumba, yes, that's it," Kristin said half to herself and half to the others.  "Istumba!"

                The knight nodded curtly and the portrait swung open revealing a large and comfortable common room.

                "Girls' dorms that way, boys' are that way," Kristin said.  Cari looked and saw a very tall, geeky, and awkward-looking boy with red hair in a bowl cut and thick-rimmed bottle-neck glasses leading the guys up to their dorm.  Kristin, catching her gaze, said, "Oh, that's Rupert Render, he's the other Ravenclaw prefect.  And uh, sorry," she added, eyeing Cari, "but he has a girlfriend.  Isn't he adorable though?!"

                Cari looked at her strangely and shook her head, then ascended with the others up the stairs.

                The girls' dorms were simple but luxurious, especially in comparison with most of Lindsey's previous places of residence.  Cari's bed was furthest to the right next to the wall with Lindsey's just to the left.

                "Hey, our stuff!" Lindsey cried.  She was surprised to see their luggage brought up for them and situated on their beds.

                While Cari had a tidy wooden trunk, Lindsey had the largest and most dilapidated box any of the girls had seen.  It was filthy and tattered, with many holes, held shut and together with twine, and emitting a peculiar odor.

                As Cari and the others opened their respective trunks and began positioning their things Lindsey began to open the giant box.

                "Duffer…" she was calling softly, and clicking her tongue.  "Duffer baby…"

                "What is she doing?" Pippy asked Cari off-handedly, very confused.

                "It's her cat," she answered.  "She's looking for her cat."

                It was then the girls did notice a soft mewing, or something vaguely resembling it, coming from the cardboard atrocity.  Finally Lindsey managed to open the top of the box, and with a happy sound pulled her cat from the nest it had made itself in her clothes inside the box.

                It looked about as far from a cat as possible, and was undoubtedly the ugliest quadruped anyone had seen.  Its fur was of a gross, dull grey, the color of a dust bunny.  There were patches missing all over, and the tip of its talk was bent grotesquely.  One ear had several holes, and the other was just a ratty pointed stub.  It only had about three whiskers all together and its eyes were two different colors: purple and a queer kind of blue-green.

                "Oh, it's… cute…" Lisa tried, cautiously reaching out her hand to pet it, then thinking better of it and pulling her hand back.  Lindsey took absolutely no notice of anyone's reactions and went about cuddling it as if it was the most adorable thing on earth instead of breath-takingly hideous.

                As Lindsey continued fawning quietly over Duffer the other girls lively chattered while personalizing their space.  Cari propped up a picture of her and her parents at the Statue of Liberty and Pippy was using her wand to put up a poster of the Dublin Dragons quidditch team.  Lindsey watched the players zoom back and forth over the field for a few moments.

                "What's that?" she asked.

                "What?  **That**?" Pippy asked incredulously.

                "Yeah."

                "That's quidditch."-a pause-"**Quidditch**.  Haven't you heard of it?"

                Lindsey shook her head and Pippy's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

                "Cari didn't tell me about that…" Lindsey said, turning towards her companion.  Cari, who had taken out on e of her new books and started to read, shrugged dismissively.

                "I figured you'd need to focus on your studies more than anything, being so new to the wizarding world and all," she said pointedly.

                Pippy's jaw dropped.

                The rest of the night was spent teaching Lindsey the wonders of quidditch, and Cari frowning disapprovingly from behind her book.


	6. Confusion and Befuddlement

~Chapter Six- Confusion and Befuddlement~

                "Hey look, we've got all our classes together.  Cool!"

                It was the next morning and Cari and Lindsey sat at breakfast looking over their new schedules.

                "We've got double Transfiguration first, Herbology, and Potions… almost all our classes are with Hufflepuff.  Oh, no, here's one with Gryffindor, and Slytherin too.  Hmm… Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions…"

                "Those are the two with Slytherin?"  Lindsey asked, glancing at her schedule.

                "Yeah… Care of Magical Creatures with Gryffindor.  Hey, we have Divination with Slytherin too, that's more than I thought," Cari continued.

                "Oh, I'm sure that makes someone happy," Lindsey said teasingly.

                "Well yes- what?  I mean… Oh shut-up!" Cari retorted defensively.  Lindsey laughed lightly.

                "So, Potions Monday and Friday?  That's cool… Oh, **double** Potions Friday, well then…"  Cari went on muttering to herself all through breakfast, barely eating, although Lindsey chose to dig in.

                They started the day with double Transfiguration and Herbology, both with Hufflepuff.  The Hufflepuffs may have been steadfast and loyal friends, but they certainly weren't the most exciting of people, and in fact rather annoyed Lindsey.  As she and Cari walked to lunch she thought how much she really wished that they didn't have so many classes with them.

                In truth she anticipated classes with the Slytherins to see the people the Sorting Hat was so sure she belonged with.  Lindsey was also curious as to which class one certain professor taught, for she hadn't had him yet this day.  And of course Cari wanted classes with Slytherins- well, only one Slytherin, to be honest.  Neither of them had long to wait; just after lunch the two girls headed to Potions through the wide, dim corridors of Hogwarts school.

                The potions room was in the dungeons, quite a bit deeper down into the school then the girls had yet gone.  However, it took them a remarkably short time to get there, and soon, Cari leading the way, they strode into the classroom.  The classroom was quite cold, and Lindsey shivered when they first stepped in.  However, it was especially dark and foreboding with unidentifiable things in jars on shelves around the room.  Lindsey liked it immediately.

                "Here, let's sit here," Cari said, moving towards a table in the front row.

                "No, no, no!  Back here!" Lindsey argued, lingering near a table in the back.  Seeing Cari was about to protest she added, "You want to be able to see Loverboy, don't you?  You won't be able to see him from up there unless he's teaching the class!"  Cari flushed and shot Lindsey a Look of Death as she used that crazy name, but came back to the table Lindsey stood by.

                As Cari got out quill and parchment Lindsey leaned back in her chair to look around.  Of all her classes this and Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed most bearable.  And perhaps Care of Magical Creatures.  The room certainly peaked her interest; dark and gloomy, with a cauldron at ready at each table.  Then Lindsey spotted the entrance of Draco, and nudged Cari hard in the ribs.  As she turned to remonstrate Lindsey pointed in his direction and she was instantly placated.

                "Lindsey, shouldn't you be getting ready for the class?" Cari asked agitatedly and pointedly, looking censoriously at Lindsey lounging with her Converse sneakers on the table.  Lindsey smiled back at her with feigned innocence, and Cari rolled her eyes profligately.

                As the bell to start the period rang Lindsey did take her feet down off the table.  She looked up towards the front of the room expectantly for the professor to begin, then found out exactly which professor it was.

                The dark one from the night before.

                Her stomach did a strange turn that was either caused by a sense of trepidation as he grimly surveyed the class or the second strudel she'd had that morning.

                "Well," he began coldly.  "I see all of you have not only returned, but increased in number," he said coldly, looking pointedly at Cari and Lindsey in the back of the room.  Lindsey instantly panicked as attention was brought to her, but she gained confidence from the cool collectedness of Cari next to her.

                "In case you don't know, my name is Professor Snape, and I will tell you right now I will do no such thing as 'go easy' on the two of you simply because of your move.  Wizarding schools in America should be just as prodigious as Hogwarts; we shall see if you two put them to shame," he said icily.  Lindsey felt Cari prickle as with static electricity at the challenge.

                Now addressing the rest of the class with his harsh stare he continued, "I expect by now for all of you to have read The Artful Method of Potion Brewing."   At this Lindsey noticed many students shift uneasily and look at each other.  Two, she noticed, who looked as impassive as ever were Cari and Draco.  She herself had not even finished the first sentence of the book, and was most grateful for the vigilance of Cari just then.

                "Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts," Snape went on, plunging right into the lesson in his dry and derisive tone, "Someone tell me three ingredients commonly found in these.  And this is an exceedingly simple question," he added with a sneer.

                Never missing a beat, Cari thrust her hand into the air.

                "Miss Green?" Snape addressed her with a skeptical raise of his eyebrows.

                "Scurvy grass, sneezewort, and lovage," she answered with confidence.  There was silence for a moment.

                "Very good," Snape replied with a bitter, sarcastic edge.  "Now that you've answered a question suitable for first years, let's see how you all can handle a potion meant for those in your own grade."  With a flick of his wand instructions appeared on the board for a highly complicated Befuddlement Draught.

                "You may work in pairs; I want a vial from each partnership by ten minutes before the end of class.  Get to work!"  At that the silent class exploded into action as they started in on their potions.

*   *   *

                As soon as Draco had walked into the Potions classroom he had noticed the two new girls from the Sorting Ceremony, who he had at that time recognized from the train.  He wasn't quite sure what opinion to have of them just yet, although he was fairly sure it would be negative.

                Then when that girl, the lighter one, had answered Snape's question before he did he was absolutely positive.  There had been something absolutely… Granger about that, and there wasn't much he hated more than a know-it-all mudblood.

                Of course, Draco had no way to know whether Cari was a mudblood or not, and therefore temporarily reserved that judgment.  He would simply have to placate himself by completely pulling off this potion while she, surely, would not.

                Draco couldn't help but smile self-assuredly as he began measuring out the necessary ingredients.

*   *   *

                "Hey look!  He's smiling…" Cari whispered giddily, motioning secretly over to Draco.

                "Oh cripes, would you shut-up?  Help me out here; I don't know what I'm doing!" Lindsey said agitatedly.

                "Right…" Cari muttered, obviously forcing her attention back to the potion at hand.  Just in time too.

                "No, not that one!"

                She snatched the incorrect ingredient out of Lindsey's hand.  Pointing towards the board she said, "See, you can't add this until you add that and wait for it to turn a slightly yellow color.  Not to mention you have to skin them first!  Didn't you read any of your book?"

                "The title," Lindsey replied with an apologetic smile.

                "Lindsey…" she sighed exasperatedly.  Sometimes she just didn't understand where that girl had her mind 90% of the time.

                "Well, it looks like **some**one has something to get started on during dinner…" she ventured pointedly.

                Lindsey made a face, but to no avail.  Cari would not waver and what's more is that Lindsey knew she was right.

                The two continued to work on their potion along with the rest of the class.  Well, in all honesty it was Cari doing most of it.  Professor Snape walked about the room, silently gauging the progress of each pair of students.  He burned out several students who had made obvious mistakes, one of which was Lisa Turpin, whose potion had somehow started on fire.  When Snape walked slowly to hover at the back near Lindsey and Cari, Lindsey got so nervous she dropped a jar of pickled daisy root.

                "Hey, careful!" Cari cried.  "You are so lucky you didn't break that!"  Lindsey just picked up the jar and hid her face in her hair, as she usually did when she was nervous.

                Finally the clock read 10 minutes to the end of class.

                "Everyone's vials on my desk now," Snape ordered, and the students obeyed.

                "Here, you take it up," Cari said, shoving the vial into her hands.

                "Wha- fine," Lindsey alleged.

                Being especially mindful of the hem of her robes Lindsey brought the potion forward and remarkably did not trip.

                Snape strode up to his desk from the back of the room as Lindsey sat back down.  Smirking, he separated most of the potions into another group; all but two.  He gestured towards the larger group of vials.

                "These," he stated maliciously, "wouldn't befuddle anyone any more than a glass of water.  And some," he picked up one vial that was a strange purple color and emitting a pungent steam even through the cork, "may have even more dire effects."  Lisa Turpin slid down in her seat.

                "However," he continued, now indicating the other two vials, "It seems at least **some** of you may have an inkling as to what you are doing.  But now, we must test them both."  Here his eyes sparked viciously.  He picked up both vials and began to pace slowly and deliberately as he continued, "A mistake sometimes made in the brewing of this particular Befuddlement Draught is the omittance of one ingredient.  Without this ingredient the potions are identical… to the eye.  However the outcomes are quite different.

                "Cari and Draco, are you both quite certain that you did not forget this ingredient?"

                Draco nodded slightly, a small half-smile on his face.  Cari nodded as well, a steely, determined glint in her eye.

                "The antidote to this Befuddlement Draught is simple, and I have quite a store of it.  Knowing this, are you sure enough to test the potion yourselves… on your partner?" Snape asked challengingly.

                Cari shot a quick glance at Lindsey whose eyes had gotten wide and was shaking her head vigorously, then nodded an affirmative at Professor Snape.  Draco saw her nod and did the same.  Pansy, his partner, elbowed him sharply.  Draco just looked back at her condescendingly.

                Professor Snape handed each of them the vials and instructed them to drink.  Lindsey shot daggers at Cari with her eyes as she lifted the vial to her lips.  Cari just stared back at her with steady, grim, assurance.  Lindsey and Pansy both downed the potion at the same time, the entire class rapt with attention.

                Almost instantly Lindsey's face went blank, her eyes empty and glazed.  She looked down curiously at the vial still in her hand, then around at the room with a most comical puzzled expression.

                Pansy, however, seemed exactly the same.  Then she suddenly made as if to sneeze, and when she did her hair turned a very vivid green and grew about an inch.  Everyone stared at her, eyebrows raised (Lindsey still gazed around perplexedly) when she sneezed again.  Again her hair grew and now was a nauseating shade of magenta.

                "As I'm sure most of you do **not** know, the omittance of the singed knotgrass causes what would be a particularly potent Befuddlement Draught into a most unusual form of the common cold," Snape said with an evil smile.

                Draco looked mortified, then outraged.  Pansy stifled a scream, then barely kept herself from hyperventilating.  However, the bell then rang, signaling the end of class.  As the students swept out of the classroom, Snape went to a shelf to retrieve both antidotes.

                After Cari and Draco both successfully administered the antidotes and their partners were back to normal, Snape ordered of Draco and Pansy, still checking her hair furtively, "I want a foot of parchment from both of you on the most common mistakes in the making of Befuddlement draughts."  Draco scowled and stormed out.  Pansy flounced after him.  Cari watched him go and Lindsey smirked maliciously.

                Snape saw this and said, "And from you two I want two feet on the history and origin of Befuddlement Draughts and their ingredients."

                The smirk fell instantly from Lindsey's face as she picked up her bag and followed Cari out the door.


	7. Divination

~Chapter Seven- Divination~

                The next day Charms flew by, followed by Divination.  Cari had been anticipating this class all day, for although she thought Divination to be the most pointless class a school could offer, she knew that Draco would be  in this class as well.

                And so it was that Cari followed Lindsey up the ladder and into the Divination classroom.

                "Ugh, easy on the incense," Lindsey muttered as she entered the smoky classroom, waving a hand in front of her face.  "And I'm supposed to spend a whole period in here twice a week?  I think I'm going to pass out…"

                Cari was a bit overwhelmed by the strong odor as well, but managed to get used to it fairly quickly.  As she followed Lindsey to a table in the back, where the incense wasn't as bad, she looked about the room for a specific white-blonde head.  In less than three seconds she had spotted him off to the side across the room.

                Cari didn't even have time to frantically whisper this information to Lindsey before the bell rang and class began.  An owl-eyed woman with huge glasses and over-exaggerated shawls floated dreamily into the room.  Cari turned to make a face at Lindsey, who she knew would understand, but changed her mind at the sight of her friend.

                Lindsey really didn't look well; her skin was even paler, making her seem practically transparent, her eyes were closed, and she was breathing slowly in through her nose and out her mouth.

                "Whoa, Lindsey, are you okay?" Cari asked concernedly.

                It took Lindsey a few deep breaths before she could respond, rather unconvincingly, "I'm fine."  Then she grimaced, clutched her stomach and said through clenched teeth, "I don't feel so well."  Cari noticed a thin sheen of sweat on her friend's hauntingly pale face now screwed up in pain.

                Cari's hand shot into the air and she interrupted Professor Trelawny with an urgent, "Professor, Lindsey doesn't feel well!"

                Professor Trelawny turned agitatedly, then said quickly, "Oh!  Well, you best go to the hospital wing.  **Now**."

                "She doesn't know the way," Cari said, speaking for Lindsey.

                Professor Trelawny shook this off and bade Lisa Turpin go with her.  The last thing Lindsey heard before leaving (though she was too feverish to be paying much attention) was Professor Trelawny saying, "You see class, I knew this would happen when I gazed into my crystal ball this morning.  And I want you to know that you too, may have the ability to See.  Now if you'll take out your tarot cards and get into partners we will begin…"

                Cari obeyed directions and took out the required set of tarot cards she had had to buy.  However, when she looked around the room in search of a partner since Lindsey was gone, it seemed everyone had already claimed one.  Cari felt a small twinge of nervousness.

                "Anyone without a partner?" Professor Trelawny called out.  Cari raised her hand.  "Cari?  Well let's see, I suppose… oh, here, you're a group of three, well now that won't work.  Draco, you go back with Cari."

                Cari's eyes widened.  What was that she had said?  Draco was to be her partner?  Certainly not… but lo and behold, here h came walking towards her (albeit with marked reluctance), giving Professor Trelawny an evil look behind her back.

                He sat down heavily in what had been Lindsey's seat, glared at Cari for half a second, then pointedly ignored her presence as Professor Trelawny rambled on about the use of tarot cards.  After she had finished Draco finally turned to face Cari.

                "You go first," he said without emotion.

                Cari just nodded; why couldn't she speak?  She'd never felt so tongue-tied in her life… she always had something to say!

                Going through the set procedure Cari slowly set four cards on the table.  Looking over the sheet Trelawny had given them to explain possible combinations she said, "Well… it says you come from a family of wealth and power…"

                Draco, lounging back in his seat across from her, arms folded across his chest, smiled slightly.  Another moment passes as Cari scanned the sheet.

                "You have a natural sense of cunning… also great ambition, ambition for greatness… but only because you fear doing any less…" Cari finished slowly, looking up at him.

                The smile had wilted from his face and he would not meet Cari's eyes.  Hastily he picked up his own cards and began to carelessly shuffle.  Once he had laid out four cards he sat studying the sheet intently.

                "These say you are very smart, loyal, and brave…" he began rather sarcastically.  Then, "But often… too self-absorbed.  And… you wear… a mask?  A mask of perfection…?  I don't know," he finally exclaimed, throwing down the sheet in exasperation.  "This whole thing is stupid."

                "I totally agree," Cari said whole-heartedly.  _We agree on something! _her mind trilled giddily.  _Oh gosh, get a hold of yourself! _she promptly reprimanded.

                Draco continued to glare about the room.  "I hate this class," he muttered.

                "I know how you feel," Cari murmured in agreement, shuffling her cards to look like she was actually doing something productive.  Draco looked at her.

                "Really?" he asked.  "You think this is stupid?"

                "Completely!" Cari cried softly.  And so Cari and Draco spent the rest of the period voicing their mutual hatred of Divination to each other.

*   *   *

                It took Lisa and Lindsey about 15 minutes to reach the hospital wing, a trek that could've taken half the time had Lindsey not had to take a pit stop.  Lisa waited outside the bathroom for several minutes until Lindsey finally emerged, shaking slightly, and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.  Lisa was about to ask if she was really okay but Lindsey limply raised her other hand and continued carefully down the corridor.

                Lindsey was actually beginning to feel a little better when Lisa finally led her into the hospital wing… but not well enough that she was immediately sent back to class.  Madam Pomfrey first did some tests and asked Lindsey some questions.

                Madam Pomfrey briskly concluded, "Well, it's not a virus, or a jinx or curse.  It seems to me you have a severe allergy to whatever Professor Trelawny burns in that room of hers.  So you should be feeling better before lunch; don't breathe the smoke and you'll stay better."

                "But I have to go to Divination," Lindsey said softly, not believing she would ever feel better, let alone by lunch.  "Twice a week!  Do I have to just fail the class?"  As soon as she said it she found the prospect quite to her liking.

                However, Madam Pomfrey said simply, "Oh no, you'll go to Divination.  You'll just have to drink an allergy suppressant potion before class, which should prevent your reaction from occurring again."

                "Oh."

                Lindsey was slightly disappointed by this fact, but not entirely.  She never wanted to be that sick ever again.  Some allergic reaction; she thought she was going to die!  Then Lindsey noted with slight surprise that she was indeed feeling a little better.  Not much.  But some.

                "What exactly is it I'll have to drink?" Lindsey asked suspiciously.

                "It's not something I have, you'll have to go ask Professor Snape," she said, writing on a small piece of parchment.   Finishing with a flourish she handed the parchment to Lindsey saying, "Here, this is what you'll need.  I'll get a message to him that a student needs a potion, otherwise he's sure not to believe you."

                Lindsey took the parchment and nodded.  Although she was still gradually getting better the longer she was away from the incense, she still looked like Death and wasn't so sure she'd be able to eat anything at lunch despite Madam Pomfrey's assurances.

                There fore Madam Pomfrey allowed her to go back up to the dormitory until lunch.  Lindsey gladly complied, while Lisa was made to head reluctantly back to Divination.

                And so Lindsey spent the rest of the period in her bed, staring at the ceiling while Lisa suffered through Divination.  As the bell rang and the students crowded into the Great Hall Lindsey headed down from Ravenclaw tower, feeling worlds better.

                She sat down at the Ravenclaw table and Cari instantly pinned her in a frosty glare.

                "Thanks for leaving me alone in Divination," she said bitterly.

                "Hey!  I thought my stomach had gone inside-out!  Back off!" Lindsey defended herself.  Cari broke into a smile.

                "Oh I was just kidding, I really don't care," she said lightly.

                "Oh, thanks a lot," Lindsey replied sarcasically.

                "We had to work in partners you know."

                "No, I didn't know, but all right."

                "Do you want me to tell you what happened?"

                "Do I have a choice?"

                "Okay, so you left and I was sitting there all alone, right?  So then we had to get into partners for tarot reading or some such nonsense, and you left so I didn't have one."

                "So…?"

                "I got partnered by Professor Trelawny."

                "What's your point, Cari?"

                "She partnered me with Draco!"

                Now Lindsey finally understood Cari's hyperactive behavior; she thought she had been acting with even more vitality than usual.  To aggravate her she decided to remain totally apathetic.

                "Oh.  Well, that's cool," she said, poking at a turnip on her plate.

                "Yeah, yeah it was!" Cari said elatedly, buttering a roll with gusto.  Her euphoria was too great to be bothered by Lindsey.  _Still,_ Lindsey thought, _At least she's eating._  Most of the rest of the meal was spent with Lindsey being quietly amused at the overly enthusiastic Cari.

                Finally, as the meal began to near its end, Cari seemed to realize life had gone on after her Draco encounter.

                "So how did it go in the hospital wing?" she asked as if she'd just remembered.

                "Eh.  Turns out I'm allergic to Trelawny's incense.  I have to go after dinner and see Professor Snape for a medicine, er, potion… thing," she replied, sounding indifferent, but not taking her eyes off her plate.

                "Do you want me to come with you?" Cari asked earnestly.

                "What?  Why?"

                "Just… because," she answered, lacking anything better to say.  Lindsey thought she was nuts, but appreciated her concern.

                "Uh, thanks but no thanks, Cari," she replied.  Cari shrugged.

                After lunch time dragged on through Double Herbology, a class, Lindsey thought, she would rather eat the dirt in than sit through.  Cari tried fruitlessly towards the beginning of class to get her to pay attention but soon abandoned her futile endeavor.

                And so it was that Lindsey was the first out of the greenhouses when the bell rang.  She silently trailed alongside Cari and Lisa as they made their way back to the Great Hall.


	8. To the Dungeons

~Chapter Eight- To the Dungeons~

                "We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow," Cari said after dinner as they headed back to the dormitory.

                "Mmm," Lindsey murmured with distracted disinterest.

                "That should be quite interesting, **I** think," Cari went on.

                "It should be indeed," Lisa said.

                "And don't forget quidditch!" Pippy added, coming up to walk with them.

                The conversation went on much the same until they reached the West Tower and went up beyond the picture of the battered knight.  And there they sat for awhile, Cari and Pippy engaged in a very vocal game of Wizard's Chess, Lisa writing a piece of poetry in a notebook, and Lindsey, nibbling her quill, struggling with her Charms homework.  The clock above the mantle of the fireplace steadily ticked, first chiming six, then seven, and finally eight.

                "You know, students aren't allowed out after nine," Cari said pointedly to Lindsey as Pippy's rook destroyed her bishop.  Lindsey looked up at the clock.  True, she had been procrastinating going down to the dungeons, however she now knew that if she did not go she would surely dump her Charms book into the crackling fire.

                "Alright, I'll be back," she said, getting up and sweeping out the portrait hole.

                "Where's she going?" Lisa asked, looking up.  Lindsey closed the portrait and heard no more.  She paused, then took a deep breath and started on her way.

                Things started out well; she was almost to the dungeons and hadn't gotten lost, nor did she run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, never a pleasant experience.  She did pass by two of Hogwarts' resident ghosts and nodded a greeting; by the time she began descending the final narrow staircase to the dungeons she wasn't feeling too bad… then she came face to face with Peeves.

*   *   *

                Severus stood behind his desk, peering intently at a bubbling cauldron.  He was making an antidote at the request of the Headmaster; it's brewing was highly intricate.  A drop of perspiration fell from his left temple as he concentrated on the potion; it had to stay at exactly the right temperature, if he went at all above or below at this crucial stage, before he added the powdered rattle snake fangs, all would be lost.

                Suddenly he was wrenched from his concentration as a screech echoed someway down the hall, breaking the perfect silence.  He dropped his wand with which he had been controlling the fire beneath his cauldron.  Instantly the temperature of the potion became too high and it changed colors and began emitting a strange, misty smoke.

                Out in the hallway the screech had turned to raucous high-pitched laughter and furious protestations, then shattering glass.

                Snape's lip curled malevolently.  He recognized the laughter.  Oh, that poltergeist would **pay**; wait until he spoke with the Bloody Baron…

                "Peeves," he raged, sweeping out the door.  The ghost was several yards down the hall chucking inkwells at an unfortunate student on the floor, who was chucking them right back.  At the sound of his angry bellow both had stopped and turned towards him.  Snape began to stride furiously towards them, black robes billowing menacingly, livid with anger.

                "The Baron will hear about this, Peeves…" he shouted as he neared them.  Peeves seemed startled but finished emptying another inkwell onto the student, who tried fruitlessly to crouch under their robes, then pitched it at them, laughed, and ascended through the ceiling.

                Snape glared up through the spot Peeves had disappeared, his black eyes blazing.  As if he had just remembered he cast his eyes down to the unlucky student who would now be the receiver of his rage.

                "What are you doing down here at this time of night?!" he yelled as the student tried frantically to stand, tangled in their robes.  "Do you know what your stupidity has just caused me to do?!  Now I-" Snape stopped short as the student finally managed to stand and raised their ink stained face to him.

                It was none other than Lindsey Wormtongue.

                Her hair was drenched and her face dripping with ink, as was her too-long robe.  She looked even more wretched than usual but for the bright shine of nervous anxiety ablaze in her eyes revealed as soon as she looked into his.  However her expression remained stoic.

                Snape just stared at her a moment, his face twitching strangely.  Swiftly however, he regained his icy composure and went on in his usual deathly bitter tone, "Do you have any conception of what you've just caused me to do?"  He had gone from an outraged bellow to a dangerous whisper.

                Lindsey shook her head slowly, never taking her eyes off his, nor blinking.

                "Have you heard of the Mind Clearing Serum?" he asked quietly.  This time her eyes twitched ever so slightly and shook her head again.

                "No?  Well, for your information Miss Wormtongue," he said coldly, "its brewing is one of the more tedious and time-consuming of the myriad of antidotes known to modern wizards.  It was this I was making, for Professor Dumbledore himself, and it was nearing its completion, was in its most delicate stage, when-"  He gestured widely to the giant ink splats on the walls and broken glass on the floor, leaving his sentence hanging.

                Lindsey finally blinked and looked down as a drop entered her eye.  Her head hurt.

                "Looks like I'll have to take ten points from Ravenclaw for your lack of common sense and judgment," he said poisonously.

*   *   *

                She couldn't believe her ears.  Ten points from Ravenclaw?  For something that was entirely Peeves' fault?!  She stared angrily up at her professor, trying her best to clear her eyes of ink.

                 "What, pray tell, were you doing alone in the dungeons at this hour in the first place?"  He quirked a suspicious eyebrow, glaring at her accusingly.

                "I was to see you for a potion," she answered evenly, though her eyes were alight with indignance at this injustice.  "For an allergy."

                Snape raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.  So she was who Madam Pomfrey had meant when she spoke to him after dinner.

                They stood there in silence for a moment, glaring at each other, then Snape turned and swept back into his room without a word.  Lindsey hesitated a moment before making up her mind and following him in.

                Entering the frosty room she saw Snape glare at a smoking cauldron, then sigh deeply and agitatedly before its contents disappeared at a wave of his wand.

                "Wait here," he barked as he walked into the back room.  Lindsey did just that, standing awkwardly with her hands behind her back in the middle of the room.  She looked down to see that she was dripping ink onto the stone floor, quite a bit of it.  Upon hearing the sound of Snape's returning footfalls she looked up.

                "Here," he said brusquely, thrusting a vial into her hands, "Take one vial before entering the classroom.  That will last you for the rest of this week and next; I'll need to brew some more for after that."  He spoke as if he had such better things to do than brew potions for stupid students.  Lindsey nodded, then turned to walk out to the hallway.  At the doorway she paused.

                Turning her head enough to look back at him through her screen of hair she said, "Sorry about your potion Professor" then turned and walked quickly away.

                Snape hadn't even noticed the ink on the floor, and now had another thing to take care of.  Yet something in her voice made him know that she really was sorry, and that in itself was… different.

                Circumstances of this evening all considered he didn't feel as bad-tempered now as he thought he should have been.  What he did feel had him even more put out than usual.  Scowling deeply, he tried to focus his mind on the work now at hand, trying desperately to ignore the absurd and most maddening sense of loneliness that had befallen him since she left.

*   *   *

                As Lindsey neared the commonroom shortly after she heard the clock striking 9, she saw the portrait of the knight swing open and the head of Cari peek out.

                "There you are!" she whispered fiercely, grabbing Lindsey's arm and pulling her in.  "Do you know what time it is?  What the heck happened to you?  How on earth didn't you get caught?  I knew I should've gone with you…"

                Slamming the door, she finally rounded on her.  "Well, what happened?  What did he say?  Did he give you the potion?"

                Lindsey put her hands on her friend's shoulders and said slowly, "**Steady.**  Deep breaths Cari, deep breaths."

                They walked to the commonroom and sat in two arm chairs near the fire.

                "It was freezing down there!" Lindsey exclaimed, huddling in her robes and scooting closer to the blaze.

                "Well?" Cari prompted impatiently.

                "He gave me a potion," Lindsey answered infuriatingly simply.  

                Cari waited for her to continue, but she just said, "I need a sweatshirt or something!" and ran up to the dorms.  Cari rolled her eyes angrily but followed.

                Upon arrival Lindsey had taken off her school robes and was pulling on a black hooded sweatshirt that looked like she had found it in a dumpster off Times Square (little did Cari know that's exactly where she found it); not only was it about three sizes too big but horribly ripped and stained, despite the Greens' efforts to clean it over the summer.  Lindsey refused to part with it even though they couldn't completely wash the smell out.

                "So?  Are you going to tell me why you're…?" Cari gestured, indicating her utterly ink-stained person.

                Lindsey simply walked to the bathroom and Cari huffed in after her.  She stood there then as Lindsey washed her face, then hands and arms, tapping her foot impatiently.  Lindsey tried her best to suffuse a grin; she loved when she could get her this worked up!

                Finally, as she started drying with a towel, she said, "I had a run-in with Peeves."

                Cari stopped dead and stared at her with marked skepticism.

                "That's all?  What about the dungeons?  And didn't you see Filch?  Well?" she prompted aggravatedly.

                At last Lindsey turned to her.

                "I went down there, practically got killed by Peeves, got my potion, came back up, and that's that!" she said, all in a rush.  "Now I think we should both get to bed."

                "You know Lindsey," Cari muttered as they went to get into their respective sleeping abodes, "Sometimes I don't know how I live with you."

                Lindsey laughed weakly as she got under the covers and Duffer came to lay on her head.

                "Good-night, Cari."

                There were several moments of terse silence, in which Cari was refusing to say anything, insisting on staying mad.  Then-

                "Good-night, Lindsey."


	9. Professor Balbossa

Hey, I promised myself I wouldn't do multiple updates in a day, but technically it was Friday when I updated chapter eight, and now it's 12:19 Saturday morning, so that's a new day!  Ha!

~Chapter Nine- Professor Balbossa~

                The next morning, Wednesday, Cari and Lindsey started the day with History of Magic.  Cari had the hardest time staying focused, keeping her mind from roaming to Draco… and Draco, and… Draco.  Lindsey tried hard; she really did, but fell asleep within ten minutes of class.

                After that was Care of Magical Creatures with Gryffindor, a fairly pleasant experience.  Lindsey always like animals (and these were of quite a new sort!) and Cari took a liking to Professor Hagrid.

                Finally it came time for their class with Slytherin: Defense Against the Dark Arts.  Everyone filed into the classroom at their leisure and when Cari and Lindsey walked in they found every seat in the first two rows taken by expectant, giggly witches, quills quivering.

                Cari and Lindsey exchanged a look of mutual disgust and took seats in the back.  Cari noted with hidden eagerness when Draco walked in… and the only seat left was in front of her!

                Lindsey observed all this as well, and couldn't help but smirk as her friend gazed dreamily at the white-blonde head in front of her as the bell rang.

                The twittering class was hushed instantly.  Several moments passed in utter silence.  Why was it so quiet?  And where was Professor Balbossa?  Lindsey had a sudden strong urge to break this silence somehow.  Thinking quickly but moving slowly she pushed her History of Magic book closer and closer to the edge of the desk.  She waited excitedly for the final satisfying _bang!_ as it plunged to the floor, but it never came.

                She looked down at the silent book on the floor, then turned a quizzical face to Cari and tried to speak.  Nothing came out!  She looked around the room in alarm to see others finding the same fact: there was no sound.

                Then suddenly, making them all jump, a voice sounded from the back of the room.  Everyone turned soundlessly towards it.

                "The silence is beautiful, no?"

                Professor Balbossa leaned casually against the back wall of the room, smiling that sly half smile, looking around at them all.

                "I just needed a few moments to collect my thoughts," he continued in a low, debonair, near-whisper, speaking with a soft French accent.  He strode to the front of the classroom.  With a queer wave of his wand the sound buffer seemed to have been removed.  The students blinked wide-eyed at each other.

                "Now," Professor Balbossa went on, slightly louder.  "Can anyone tell me what charm I just used?"

                Everyone just looked around at each other.  Tentatively, Cari raised her hand.

                "Yes?" Professor Balbossa called on her, seeming slightly surprised.

                "A… a Silence Charm?" she guessed hesitantly.  What she had read about this was not extensive, and she wasn't 100% sure.

                Professor Balbossa quirked his eyebrows, cocked his head, and smiled.  Several giggles were barely stifled and Lindsey rolled her eyes exaggeratedly in disdain.  _This guy sure knows what he's doing,_ she thought sordidly.  Lindsey jumped inwardly to see he was looking right at her, obviously witness to her eye roll.  However he made no mention of it then.  He turned his eyes back to Cari before speaking again.

                "Very well done, Miss…"

                "Green.  Cari Green," she answered quickly.

                "Bond.  James Bond," Lindsey mimicked under her breath.  Cari elbowed her hard under the desk and Lindsey just grinned.

                "The Silence Charm," Professor Balbossa went on, beginning to pace slowly and deliberately up and down the desk rows.  "Aptly named, for not only does it put a stopper on all sound, but it is performed without the utterance of a single spell.  No-Sound Charms, more formally known as the Sillhet-Stilte Charms, require no verbal spells, simply a highly specific wand movement.  These can be highly useful if you wish to cast a charm without being heard by your enemy."

                He had walked back to the front of the room now.  Swiftly he turned around to face them.

                "You," he pointed out to the class.  "What's your name?"

                Draco looked alarmed at first, then quickly replaced his expression with his usual one of degrading indifference.

                "Draco Malfoy," he answered, sitting up straighter and putting a proud emphasis on his last name.

                "Care to try?" Professor Balbossa asked challengingly, indicating his wand.  Draco leapt at the chance.

                Cari's eyes widened.  Her heart rate sped up, and she yelled at herself to stop being like those annoying witches in the front of the class.  Movement caught her eye as Draco got up and walked to the front of the class, standing tall with demeaning confidence, almost cockiness.  When he reached the front of the classroom, Professor Balbossa spoke.

                "Now, have you performed a summoning charm before?"

                Draco nodded and sneered at this question.  Of course he had done a summoning charm before!

                "Well then, I'd like you to perform one, using the No-Sound method.  I'll demonstrate first."  Professor Balbossa borrowed a book from a particularly giddy witch in the front row, placing it on his desk.  Then he just looked at it a moment, as if trying to stare it down.  Suddnely he began moving his wand in another crazy pattern, and the book flew at him.  Smoothly, he caught it with his free hand.

                "Your turn Mr. Malfoy," he said smartly, smirking.

                Draco glared at him a moment, as he glared at everyone, then took a deep breath and turned resolutely to the book, back on Professor Balbossa's desk.  He had tried to watch as carefully as possible when Balbossa had just done it, but he wasn't all the way sure.  Setting his face grimly he raised his wand, then moved it as closely as he could remember like Professor Balbossa.

                However, instead of flying to him, the book made a shrill squeaking sound, then disappeared with a _pop!_ and a tiny mushroom cloud of smoke.  Most of the girls gasped and a few of the boys snickered.__

                Cari shook her head and turned her attention back to the front.  Draco looked rather taken aback, staring at the place the book had been.  Professor Balbossa stared there as well, his mouth twitching strangely.

                "It looks like you'll be needing some practice," he said with a quiet and barely-there malevolence.  Lindsey picked up on it.  She furrowed her brow perplexedly, then glanced over at Cari.  She rolled her eyes.  Cari was simply rapt with attention… to Draco, of course.

                "To your seat, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Balbossa said.  Draco whipped around and returned to his sit in a fit of rage and embarrassment.

                And so the class went on almost normally, Professor Balbossa lecturing them on the art and performance of No-Sound Charms, until the bell signaled the end of class.  Everyone left all in a rush, eager to get to dinner.  Lisa approached them just after they made it out of the room.

                "So, what do you guys think of Professor Balbossa?" she asked eagerly, breathing hard after catching up and then trying to keep up with Lindsey's staggering pace.

                "Eh, he's okay, I guess.  He's just a Professor," Lindsey replied indifferently.

                "I think his methods are questionable," Cari said rather hotly, thinking back to the humiliation of Draco.

                "Uh-huh," said Lindsey, looking at her knowingly with a mischievous glint in her eye.  Cari shot her a Look and Lindsey stopped there, but the roguish grin never left her face.

                "Well, **I** think he is **quite **attractive," Lisa said generously.

                "You and all the other witches in the class," Lindsey snorted.  Cari hit her with her History of Magic book.  Lisa looked unphased.

                "Didn't you hear his accent?  His voice is so… so sexy!" she went on fervently.  Lindsey rolled her eyes and Cari gave her another warning glance. Lisa gushed all the way to the tower where they deposited their books, then all the way to the Hall, where they began the evening meal.

                "Have you had Defense Against the Dark Arts yet?" she asked Pippy breathlessly as they sat down at the Ravenclaw table.

                "Uh-huh.  On Monday," she answered with her mouth full of clam chowder.

                "We did too!  Yesterday!" Kristin added, grabbing a roll.

                "Is he not the hottest Professor you've ever seen?" Lisa prattled on.  Lindsey looked about ready to be sick as Pippy but more so Kristin joined in their high-pitched, rather squealy conversation.  She was almost glad to take the Potions book which Cari procured from under the table.  Burying her head in the book she tried her best to block out the discussion of Professor Balbossa.


	10. First Week is Over

~Chapter Ten- First Week is Over~

                The rest of the week went by in a whirlwind that seemed like an age.  Dinner that Friday night was as gloriously extravagant as all their meals had been, much to Lindsey's delight.  Two tables away, Draco kept glancing at them moodily.  The first Potions lesson was still fresh in his mind.

                He had been appalled when Professor Snape had assigned him that foot of extra homework, but even more so when he remembered that that Cari Green girl had made a better Befuddlement Draught than him.  That one simple fact really made his blood boil; it wouldn't leave his head.

                Most of his thoughts revolved around how outrageous the whole situation was, how utterly ridiculous.  And yet… something about that fact had him alarmingly intrigued…

                _No,_ he thought forcefully.  He would **not** allow himself to be interested in Cari Green, he would not, he would not, he would not…

*   *   *

                "Would you eat something, Cari?  Geez… you barely ate breakfast and now you're simply picking at your dinner," Lindsey scolded her friend who was staring unblinkingly in the other direction.  Lindsey followed her gaze and added mischievously, "One cannot live on eye candy alone."

                This finally caught Cari's attention and she retaliated by pitching a carrot at the giggling Lindsey.

                "Just read your book, why don't you?" she snapped, staring at her plate.  She had made Lindsey take her Potions book but had yet to see her touch it.

                "Fine," she muttered, snatching the book unceremoniously from under a napkin.  She figured she would just stare at an open page for awhile to placate her.

                Cari seemed to guess this and said, "And actually **read** it.  I may not always be so willing to help you out like I do all the time, you know."

                "Ooh, is that a threat?"

                "Hey, I'm just saying…  You know, what if Professor Snape calls on you?  I personally wouldn't want to be caught off guard in that class…"

                "Alright, alright, alright!  Just… leave me alone," Lindsey muttered in response.  Confident she had sufficiently gotten through; Cari smiled and went back to gazing around the Hall.  She couldn't really help it if her eyes just **happened** to linger over a certain someone when he wasn't looking…

                That night, after dinner was over and the students left the Hall, Cari sat in the Ravenclaw common room doing homework.  Lindsey, on the other hand, sat twirling her wand like a drumstick.

                "You know, you could be doing homework too," Cari said with marked annoyance.  "We have the same classes with the same homework and I'm quite busy."

                Lindsey shrugged.  "Meh.  I haven't got any motivation."

                "No motivation?" Cari asked incredulously.  "Lindsey, you've missed out on the first four years of your wizarding education!  And you do realize you've got to pass your O.W.L.S. too?"  Lindsey blinked back uncomprehendingly or uncaringly.

                Cari rolled her eyes and returned to her Transfiguration assignment in irritation.  It was Friday night and they had finally finished their first week of school at Hogwarts (it felt like a year) and Cari was tired and cranky, as Lindsey was loathe to do any work.  She had the whole weekend after all.

                Lindsey got up to check the Ravenclaw messageboard and her attention was drawn to a flyer announcing the start of quidditch practice next week.  Pippy came to take a look too.

                "Quidditch starting already?  Geez…  We'll be playing games by the week after next, I'll bet you," she said, rather tiredly.  Everyone was worn out from their first week of school after summer holiday.

                As darkness gradually fell revealing a clear and starry night, the girls in Ravenclaw readied themselves for bed.  Cari stayed up for quite awhile reading by the stub of a candle.  Eventually, as the hour grew ever later, Cari put her book down to go to sleep.

                "Hey, aren't you going to bed?" Cari asked Lindsey, who still sat awake.

                "Uh-huh," she mumbled distractedly.  Cari shrugged and rolled over, snuggling into her blankets.

                However Lindsey, who sat on the window ledge with a purring Duffer in her lap, did not find sleep for some time.  High in the Ravenclaw tower the dormitory offered a breath-taking view.  Lindsey sat there silently, gazing out at the grounds and the stunning stars, deep in thought.

                Indeed, she had a lot to think about, having just completed her first week ever of wizarding school.  Not to mention she had only found out she was a witch three months earlier.  She still marveled at this.

                All these thoughts were whirling in her head, making sleep impossible even if she had wanted to.  But no, the only place she wanted to be right now was gazing at the crystal sky.  She let her mind wander and her thoughts all seemed to expand out of her mind and sail gracefully over the shadowy, moon-soaked forest beyond.

                Not three months ago she had been living alone in a box on the streets of New York City, and now look where she was.  A castle in England where she got three meals a day and a bed to sleep in every night.  It was like the prince and the pauper.  She knew she should be grateful, and indeed she was, and yet…

                Sometimes, when she allowed herself too long to just sit and think, her mind would inevitably go to that one question, that one question that had been plaguing her mind her entire life.  Sometimes, she never knew one could feel so lost and alone.  When she had found Cari and the Greens, she thought her days of that were over, and yet she still had that hole in her heart.

                She sighed, sitting there curled up on the window seat, and gazed up wistfully at the moon.  Then she slowly, so as not to wake Duffer, moved both cat and person into bed for a noble attempt at sleep.


	11. Quidditch

I know, I know, I KNOW I promised I would stop the multiple updates in one day but I couldn't help it!  The last chapter was so… boring!  So here, everyone enjoy this slightly more exciting chapter and do not get mad at me for updating too much!  ^_^;;

~Chapter Eleven- Quidditch~

                "Well, are you ready to be amazed?" Pippy asked Lindsey as the group of Ravenclaw girls headed out to the quidditch pitch in the darkening sky two weeks later for the first game of the season.  Lindsey just nodded.  She still had her Potions book under her arm, and was actually anxious to keep reading.  She could not believe this fact.  It was just that she had come upon a very interesting section!  It spoke of the brewing of potions with rather, eh, negative effects.  Draught of the Living Death, for example.  And that wasn't even the worst.  Potions to drive the victim insane, Fever Elixirs, Dragonsand potions, and more.  She was driven by a weird, morbid fascination to read all about these types of potions.

                "Well, this is where I leave you!" Pippy said cheerfully, separating herself from them and joining the rest of the Ravenclaw team.  "See you in the stands!" she called back.  Cari and Lindsey followed Lisa and Kristin into the aforementioned stands and took seats near the middle.

                "Wow, this is quite a turn-out!" Lisa remarked, scanning the near-full stands.

                "Always is," Kristin replied knowingly to Lisa, and Cari and Lindsey.  "Can't say I know of one person who doesn't fancy coming to watch a round of quidditch."  

                She stole a secret side glance at Cari, who was frowning.  She turned back to the marked page with those most intriguing potions.  Cari looked over interestedly: Lindsey, reading?  And at her first quidditch match?  It was a miracle.  Then she saw the potions.

                "Match'll be starting soon," she said pointedly.  Cari, being the model auror's daughter, firmly disapproved of anything having to do with the Dark Arts.  _Except Draco Malfoy_, Lindsey thought rather cattily, but not intentionally.

                She finished off her paragraph and nodded, closing her book, but keeping her fingers in her page.

                Sure enough, the match did start.  Lisa helped Lindsey to understand the game as the two teams began to play. 

                "See, Pippy's a Chaser," Lisa said, pointing up to Pippy, who was passing the big red ball to another player in blue.  "And see that ball she's got?  That one's the quaffle…"

                "Hey… hey, is that Draco Malfoy?  Right there…" Cari said suddenly, trying to sound as casual as possible, although Lindsey sensed the undercurrent of excitement.

                Kristin nodded.  "Yeah, he's the Slytherin Seeker," she said easily.

                "Ah…" Cari answered, now not taking her eyes off the action above them.  Lindsey smirked and returned her attention to the air as well.

*   *   *

                Draco's cool grey eyes squinted as he scanned the arena from a high vantage point, always looking for the snitch.  He could see the Ravenclaw Seeker looking too.  His heart rate quickened; he loved the thrill quidditch gave him!  Suddenly he spied a familiar upturned face in the audience; Cari Green.  For no logical reason Draco's stomach did an odd sort of twist and he had a sudden, unexplainable desire to show off.

                His eyes searched even more quickly and feverishly for the glint of the fading sun's rays on the shiny, golden surface of the snitch.  Then- no, could it be?  Yes, yes it could!  He saw the snitch!

                So did the Ravenclaw Seeker, apparently, for he dove in the exact direction in which Draco saw the snitch.  However, the Ravenclaw had dived too early; he wasn't able to see the sudden change in direction the snitch took above and to the right.

                Draco smirked and urged his broom forward at an alarming rate.  The wind whipped his white-blonde hair into his eyes and he tossed his head to clear his vision.  In that instant when he couldn't see, the snitch moved.  Now it was further above and behind Draco.  Also by this time the Ravenclaw Seeker knew it had moved, and finally caught a glimpse of it as Draco turned.

                Now both of them were nearly neck and neck, racing towards the snitch.  The snitch itself just hovered there, glistening pristinely, as if waiting for them to come.  Just as both of their fingers reached for it, the Ravenclaw's nearly closing on it, the snitch dove straight down and began to race almost along the grass.

                There was a gasp from the crowd, who had been watching all this spellbound, as the two Seekers both dove determinedly to beat the other to the snitch.  As this was going on the action of the quaffle had not stopped.  No, two more goals had been scored by Slytherin, but three had been scored by Ravenclaw, one by Pippy.  So now the scores were tied, and the crowd was going crazy.

                As Draco's heart leapt to his throat in the adrenaline-pumping dive Cari's face flashed in his mind, though he did not know why, and he pressed himself just a little bit harder, just a little bit more…   And that little bit lost Ravenclaw the game.  For in that small little burst it had pushed Draco just enough ahead of the Ravenclaw Seeker to wrap his outstretched fingers around the whirring snitch.

                He pulled up sharply and raised the hand in which he was clutching the snitch triumphantly.  The Slytherins in the stands went absolutely ballistic with the excitement of winning the first Quidditch game of the school year and the Slytherin team all swooped around him on their brooms, cheering wildly and giving him congratulatory pats on the back.  The Ravenclaws also swooped together, with Rupert Render, the captain, yelling, "Hey, cheer up, mates!  Just wait; we'll have 'em yet!" as they flew into the locker rooms.

*   *   *

                Cari almost couldn't keep from jumping and cheering with the rest of the Slytherins as Draco caught hold of the snitch.  She looked up at him beaming; she had been hoping so much for his success.  And then, as he was holding up the snitch and reveling in all his glory, he looked down at her, and this time she didn't take her eyes away.  They just looked at each other in a secret, shared moment of ecstasy.

*   *   *

                "That was amazing!" Lisa shouted as they met the rather sad-looking Ravenclaws.  Kristin and Cari ran up to give their friends hugs for their valiant attempt, while Lindsey hung back.

                "Oh, I'd give anything to play!" Lisa cried wistfully.

                "Ha, yeah, like that'll happen!" Cari said teasingly harshly.

                "Hey, if there's a spot open, I'll keep you in mind," Rupert winked and said to her in his charming Irish accent.

                Cari glanced at Lindsey over her shoulder.  She hadn't said anything the whole game, but she did have that weird grin of hers on her face, quite meaningful for Lindsey.  She was a very melancholy girl; the whole of the time Cari had known her she didn't think she'd seen her really smile more than twice.

                All of Ravenclaw House had come to see the game, and as a small mob they moved back to the dormitory talking and shouting and laughing animatedly together.  Lindsey stuck to the back, off to the side, but she still paid rapt attention.  Everyone went in through the picture hole to the commonroom, and stayed about there, talking for a long while.  However, eventually everyone drifted up to the dorms to sleep.  They still had classes tomorrow, after all.

                That was the first night since arrival that Lindsey Wormtongue had a full and restful slumber, while Cari tossed and turned for about an hour before sleep found her.  She couldn't stop obsessing over that look, the look between her and Draco.  She so wanted to believe it meant something, but then there was a part of her heart that assured her it was nothing.  He was just smiling in any direction in his elation; he probably didn't even notice he was looking at her at all.  And what about Pansy Parkinson?  She certainly saw them together a lot…

                All of these thoughts ran around Cari's head like troublesome rodents, only to be placated by the one thought she kept returning to: Draco's face.  Nothing else seemed to matter when she pictured his face, full of joy and glory and the thrill of victory, the setting sun from behind framing his face in angelic rays.  That was the picture in her mind's eye when sleep finally claimed her.


	12. Duffer is Missing

~Chapter Twelve- Duffer is Missing~

                The next morning, fifth year Ravenclaws started out the day with Divination.

                Snape's potion worked very well for Lindsey, though she really wished it didn't, Divination being the most pointless class she had ever been in.

                They then had a break before heading to Transfiguration, another class Lindsey had a hard time bearing.  Not because of the utter uselessness like Divination, or the extreme boringness of History of Magic, but for the same reason she disliked Charms: while Cari excelled she was left struggling behind.  However she did her best and eventually the class ended, much to her relief, only to be followed by lunch and Charms.  About now she realized she didn't like Thursdays much.

                However for Cari, Charms was the best part of the day.

                Ravenclaw had Charms with Gryffindor, one of two classes.  Cari had always outclassed everyone in Charms even back in America, and did not cease to do the same here.  Conversely, there was one who would see that she was not outdone: Hermione Granger.  Hermione had been by far the best in this class until Cari came along, and it rather agitated her that she could be beaten by the new girl.

                Therefore, practically every Charms class was like a showdown between Green and Granger, Hermione sometimes coming out victorious, but more often than not it was Cari.  This pattern eventually became boring to the rest of the class, and they became quite used to the answer-fights the two girls had: one answering a question, then the other contradicting it, then the first contradicting that contradiction, and so on.  Nonetheless, it all made for a rather monotonous Charms class after the first few weeks, and Lindsey's dislike of the class was not slacked.

                Astronomy was next, late that evening.  This was a rather enjoyable class for both Lindsey and Cari, though Cari was rather cranky, induced by the amount of homework she still hadn't done, which always stressed her out.

                After class, she and Lindsey were the last to enter the Ravenclaw commonroom.  They reached the picture of the knight, who was just then snoozing, leaning on his sword.

                "Istumba!" Cari articulated crossly.  

                The knight awoke with a start and swung open, saying in a rather hurt tone, "Well, you don't 'ave to be mean about it, miss…"  

                Cari slammed the portrait shut anyway, then sighed.  That had helped a little.  She knew she really shouldn't be taking her pent up frustrations out on the portrait knight, but when you're pissed… well, anything goes.

                The two girls ascended the staircase in silence.

                "I suppose I'll do a little of that Charms work now…" Cari said as they entered the room, walking, no, trudging to her bed, then falling down onto it face first.

                Lindsey watched this, shook her head, then proceeded in taking off her school robes.  Then she stopped.  Something wasn't right.

                Cari sat up and blinked her eyes several times to focus.  She was so tired!  The last thing she wanted to do right now was analyze the components of Temporary Invisibility Charms.  She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.  Then she heard a frantic rustling behind her.  She turned to see Lindsey pop up, prostrate, from where she had been digging under her bed.

                "What on earth-" Cari started.

                "It's Duffer!" she cried.  "He's gone!"

                "Are you absolutely positive?" Cari rationally asked the near hysteric Lindsey.  "Have you checked everywhere?"

                "Yes, everywhere!" Lindsey cried ardently.  "He's not in the bathroom, or in his box, or under the bed- any of them!  And he doesn't sleep with anyone else…"  She began to look truly panicked.

                "Okay, just… calm down!" Cari tried.  "I'll go check the commonroom; maybe he got down there."  And so she did, and ten minutes later returned with the unfortunate negative report.

                "Cari, this castle's so big; he's such a little cat…" Lindsey moaned, sitting on her bed.  She sat there, gazing at the big, nasty box still positioned next to her bed.  Cari didn't know what to do, so she just stood there, thinking.  Then all of a sudden, Lindsey spoke.

                "I'm going to find him," she said resolutely, turning her head to Cari.  Cari was about to protest but Lindsey was already out the door and halfway to the commonroom.  She followed her reluctantly out.

                "Lindsey, it's quarter after midnight!  We're not allowed out!  Filch is going to catch us for sure!" she cried rather petulantly.

                "I don't care," was Lindsey's stout reply.  "I'm going to find my cat."

                Cari rolled her eyes but knew it was no use.  She followed her friend out the portrait hole.

                "Wha- Wait now, where are you two going?" the knight, who had been sleeping again, asked.

                "Shhh!" Cari chided.  "Her cat's gone missing.  Did you happen to see him leave through here?"  The knight paused in thought for a moment.  Then his eyes lit up.

                "Why yes, I think I did!  Nigh about when everyone left for Astronomy!" he replied triumphantly.       Cari nodded her thanks and said, "Which way?"  

                The knight pointed down the left-hand corridor and the two took off, Cari calling over her shoulder, "Thank you, kind sir!"  She felt rather bad about abusing him earlier.

                The knight bowed deeply and they could just hear the reply, "Always glad to help a lady."

                "What was that all about?" Lindsey questioned as they ran stealthily and silently down the dark, empty corridor.

                Cari shrugged and said simply, "He's a knight.  That's what I figured you should say to one."  Lindsey just raised her eyebrows.  It did make sense.

                "Okay, we two should split up," she decided as they came to a fork in the corridor.  Before Cari could protest, she added, "If we split up we have more of a chance of finding Duffer and therefore returning back to bed sooner and **therefore** having less of a chance of getting caught!"

                "Fine!" Cari relented.  "You take that way and I'll take this."  She indicated the left way.  Lindsey nodded curtly and took the right.  "If you don't find him just return to the commonroom, we'll look tomorrow!" she called back quietly.  "You hear me Lindsey?  Go back to the commonroom!"

                Lindsey heard her, but now she was focused on finding Duffer.  That cat had been with her through more than anyone knew, and she didn't know what she'd do without him; after all, it was a very big castle.  Vaguely a thought flashed at the back of her mind: this was one of the quickest ways to the dungeons.

                She searched frantically for over ten minutes, with no sign of the battered feline, or of Filch or Norris for which she was most grateful.  She wondered briefly if Cari was faring so well.  Eventually she got deeper and deeper down into the castle until she was almost upon the dungeons, all the time softly calling out the cat's name.  She was beginning to get nervous now, so she quickened her pace.  All at once she came down the final steps to the dungeon and thought she saw the briefest flash of a tail disappear around the corner at the far end of the hall.

                "Duffer!" she cried out, and it carried more than she would've liked it to over the frigid, dank air.  She clapped her hand over her mouth and glanced around apprehensively, then started to sprint down the hallway.  At about halfway to the end her stomach flew to her throat as she tripped clumsily over her own foot and went sprawling over the flagstone, sliding at least three feet.  She opened her eyes after she stopped her momentum and was met with the unpleasant surprise of a dusty black pair of shoes…


	13. Finding Duffer

Hey all!  Another day, another update!  I'm really pressing to get where I was before the Big Revision, so all my previous readers (namely BURN THE R.U.M.- still luv ya!  ^.^) can keep going with the story.  And thank you so much to my new readers (namely dragonwing and Rae Roberts!).  Y'all ROCK MY WORLD!!!

~Chapter Thirteen- Finding Duffer~

                Severus Snape had been in his office, going over some reports that had been turned in to him by the first year Hufflepuffs that day in the dim light of a single candle.  At least he was trying to grade them.  He was rather tired and his mind kept wandering where he didn't want it to go.

                He was lonely; the emptiness had really been getting to him lately.  He had abated it, had fought it off for many years… when he had been a Death-eater.  He was solely and whole-hearted loyal to Dumbledore now of course, but sometimes, when it was particularly dark, and he felt more acutely alone, he would think back to his Death-eater days.

                Even now, though he served a much better purpose, there wasn't the fellowship there had been among the Death-eaters.  He always felt separated from all the other professors, the others in the Order…  He had no desire to return to the Dark Ways, he simply wished he had someone who might understand him again.

                He shook his head again in disgust at himself.  He really only got this way when it was late and dark… and alone.  He could fend it off any other time of day.  Fiercely he forced his mind back onto the horrendous work of the first years he had on his desk.

                "Duffer!"

                Snape's head didn't even move, though his quill stopped writing.

                _Oh wonderful, Severus,_ he thought acerbically to himself.  _Now you're conjuring up voices in your head.  That's just won-  His_ thought was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps echoing in the corridor just outside; of this he was certain.

                "What..?" he muttered out loud, getting up to check in the corridor.  It was after midnight, any student out at this time of night would most definitely pay!  He could certainly use some poor student to discipline right now… maybe that would make him feel better.  He stepped just outside his door to the dim corridor, inadequately lit by the faintly burning sconces along the wall.  Out of nowhere, however, a student was brought sliding right to his feet making him jump.  Slowly and reluctantly the face of Lindsey Wormtongue was revealed to him.

                "What, do I even dare to ask, are you doing down here now?"he said, speaking as if he really didn't want to know.  She didn't answer right away.

                "My cat," she said quietly, staring directly back up at him with a rather hurt look in her eyes.  She was tall, but Snape was still at least a head taller.  He raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

                "Your cat?" he said with marked skepticism.

                "He's lost!" she cried, her voice surprisingly filled with emotion as she tried so hard to get him to believe her.  "I've got to find him!  I-"  She stopped and looked down then, apparently trying to master herself.

                Snape was absolutely speechless and without a thought as of what to do; he was caught completely off guard.  Fortunately he was saved having to do anything, for the moment, as a sound caused Lindsey's head to jerk up and himself to turn around.

                It was the sound of a cat fight.

                "Duffer!" Lindsey cried happily, beginning to run down the corridor.

                At the same time Snape muttered, "Mrs. Norris…" and reluctantly took off after her.

                The scene that greeted Lindsey was Duffer and Mrs. Norris locked in brutal battle, scratching and hissing violently.

                "Duffer!  Oi!" she yelled.  "Hey!  Stop that!"

                The scene that greeted Snape as he turned the corner was of a vicious catfight with Lindsey in the middle of it trying to separate the two irate felines.  Before he could intervene at all Lindsey fell back against the wall with a strangled cry.

                She was about to go back into the fight with more priorities than to rescue Duffer when Snape yelled agitatedly, "Oh, let me do it!"

                Lindsey fell back once more in utter surprise at his outburst, and could only watch as Snape dove into the raging cat fight, cursing horribly until he pulled Duffer out.

                Giving Mrs. Norris a kick in the opposite direction he cried, "Damn cat!"  Mrs. Norris gave a final angry hiss, then slunk off down the dark hall.  Snape looked down at the small, ragged bundle he had retrieved and curled his lip in disgust.  Holding it as far from his body as possible he turned to Lindsey, who stood.

                "This would be Duffer, I presume?" he asked distastefully.  Lindsey glared at him for the swiftest of instants, then reached out to take the pathetic creature.  Her hands were scathed with scratch and bite marks, dripping blood.

                "Come with me," he said coldly, turning back towards his office.  Lindsey followed quietly, taking a look at her cat.  She had seen him sustain much worse injuries, and knew he would be perfectly fine in a day or two.  She knew he could hold his own against some pampered priss like Mrs. Norris; he'd been in more alley cat fights than she could remember.

                Snape entered his office and gestured for her to wait there.  Lindsey watched as he went into the back store room.  Shortly after Snape came out with a vial of potion.

                "Here, take this," he said, making it sound like she had asked him for a healing potion. He shoved the potion rather awkwardly into her hand not clutching the Godforsaken cat, and it was then she saw his hands were in much worse condition than hers.              

                "What about yours?" she couldn't help asking.  Despite her usual distance from people, she really was a compassionate person.  However when he looked at her then, she rather wished she hadn't of said anything.  But now that she started she had to go on.

                "You need it much more than I do," she said quickly, setting the vial on his desk.

                "Oh no, that one's for you," he said strangely, not taking his eyes off hers.

                "Well, do you have more?  For yourself, I mean…  I-I could, uh… I could come in and help brew some…" she added rather pathetically.

                "Oh you'll help me brew some," he said, a poisonous smile on his face.  "When you come in for detention starting next week."  Lindsey blinked once at him.

                "You're to come here at seven o' clock and stay until nine everyday," he continued briskly.

                Again, Lindsey just blinked at him, now with a rather confused and disbelieving look in her eyes.

                She paused for a moment, then said, "Very well" and turned to walk out to the corridor.

                "And ten points from Ravenclaw for being out after hours," he added cruelly before she left.  Lindsey stopped but did not turn, then hastened her retreat.

                Swiftly she walked down the corridor, Duffer cradled in the crook of one arm, the potion clutched in the other.  She gripped it angrily until her knuckles turned white.

                Ten points from Ravenclaw?  That means she lost her House twenty points in one month…  If it went on like this they'd never win the House Cup, and it would be because of her.

                And detention?  Cari was going to kill her…  Cari!  Instantly Lindsey forgot about the muddled events that just took place and wondered how her friend had fared.  She knew if there was anything Cari hated more than getting something less than a perfect score, it was rule-breaking.

                Now, Lindsey had no qualms about this.  Although it was rather pathetic she had detention less than a month into her school year here, it really didn't bother her.  Now Cari on the other hand…  Lindsey quickened her pace even more and turned to take the secret passage up to Ravenclaw Tower to see what fate had befallen her friend.


	14. Cari's Discovery

~Chapter Fourteen- Cari's Discovery~

                Now at about the time Lindsey had fallen at the feet of the Potions master, Cari had also made her way down to the dungeon.  It was a part she had never been, and in her intent search for the cat that apparently meant so much to Lindsey she had not been paying too much attention to where she was going.

                There!  She had seen a bit of tail or… something, disappear just round there!  She was sure of it… at least she thought she was.

                She followed that bit of something anyway, but when she rounded the corner, nothing was there.  Then she saw it again, disappearing behind a statue.  She followed it there, but was perplexed to discover the cat, or whatever it was, to be gone.

                _How could it be gone?_ she thought irritably.  _I know I saw it come back here, and I didn't see it go out._  She began poking around the walls and statue; she had read that there were ever so many secret ways and passages hidden in the halls of Hogwarts.

                "Oh Lindsey, if I don't find that cat of yours I'm gonna kill you!" she muttered angrily, thrusting her shoulder into the back of the statue.  Her breath was taken from her suddenly as the statue moved quite easily.

                Cari gasped and looked down curiously to see a staircase going down, black as pitch.  In the all encompassing darkness she couldn't decipher how far down it went.  She looked around for a moment nervously.  It was completely against her nature to go down there and yet… something was calling her.  Taking a deep breath she began to descend the cold stone stairs warily.

                They went down for quite awhile, until Cari could no longer see the block of light from the bottom of the statue.  Then, all of a sudden, they stopped, and she was on a semi-concealed landing, looking down on an open room with a fire going in its center.

                It was an old room, and frightfully cold.  Obviously it hadn't been used in a good many years by the amount of dust covering the floor, and the cobwebs hanging creepily down from the ceiling, floating strangely in the heat waves from the fire.

                Then Cari saw seven figures, standing in a circle around the fire.  She couldn't see who they were; their faces were completely covered by the black hoods of their cloaks.  They were clearly chanting something, and Cari had the sudden feral urge to get out of there.  She turned to go, then stopped.

                One of them was laughing.

                It was a high-pitched, mirthless laugh, and sent chills to Cari's very bones.  She turned to see who was making that horrible, horrible sound, and saw one of the hooded figures, the tallest one, drawing back his hood.  The other cloaked figures began to laugh as well, and Cari could take no more.  She began to run up the stairs as fast as she possibly could.  Then she suddenly slipped in the dust that coated everything and stopped dead in the awful silence that followed.

                "What was that?" a voice hissed.  Although it did not sound entirely the same, Cari could tell it was the tall figure who had been laughing.  Cari's heart was beating so fast and so hard she was sure that if it did not burst right then and there that they would surely hear it echoing through the chamber.

                "I heard nothing," another voice answered.  This one seemed familiar too, but for the life of her Cari could not place it.

                And she was not going to wait there to try.  Swiftly, but more carefully and silently, she ascended up the stairs and replaced the statue.  She cringed as if in pain at the dreadful screeching it made, wondering how it did not seem so before.

                As soon as the statue was replaced she took off sprinting as fast as her legs would allow.

                _Sorry Lindsey, _she thought breathlessly, _but there's no **way** I'm staying to look for your cat!  _And with that she sprinted hard all the way back to the Ravenclaw commonroom.

                At about the time that Cari reached the portrait of the knight, having barely enough breath to utter the password, Snape was intervening in the riotous catfight.  And so it was that Cari got back before Lindsey.

                Did she run into Filch on her mad dash back?  She didn't know.  Of course she didn't run into Norris, but had Filch seen her, or called out, she didn't know.  All she could remember was blind fear as she flew back to Ravenclaw Tower.

                As she got past the knight and reached the commonroom she saw that Lindsey was not there.  She groaned inwardly, but knew she had suspected it would be so.  The fire had died down, and since she was suddenly shivering uncontrollably, she poked it back into life and sat down on an armchair, curling into a fetal position and resting her chin on her knees, waiting for the return of Lindsey.

*   *   *

                When Lindsey finally got up to the seventh floor through the secret passageway, it was nigh on about one o' clock in the morning.  She was breathing hard, having run the whole way after she thought of Cari, and breathlessly told the knight the password.

                "Students running all over the school at this time of night," he muttered as he swung aside to let Lindsey by.  "Why, I've never seen it!"

                "Sorry Sir Andrew," Lindsey whispered apologetically as she passed his frame and went into the commonroom.

                As soon as she walked in she was relieved to see Cari seated in an armchair by the fire.  Then her brow furrowed at the condition of her friend: huddling and breathing quickly her skin was almost as tallow as her own, and a thin sheen of sweat shone over her face in the firelight.

                "What happened to you?" she asked in a concerned whisper, coming to sit by her incapacitated companion.

                "You found Duffer?  That's good…" Cari murmured. "I'm fine," she added assuredly at the concerned look in her friend's eyes.

                "Well?  What happened?" Lindsey asked, only slightly placated.

                Cari stared into the fire.  She wasn't sure she wanted to tell her; if she told her that would mean dwelling on it, and then it would mean it was true.  Cari had calmed down very much, and her mind was much more rational now, but she did still look a sight.  Finally she shut her eyes and drew in a resolute breath.

                "All right," she said with effort.  "I'll tell you."

                And so she told Lindsey everything, about the statue, the stairwell, the fire, the cloaked figures, and the laughter.

                "I'm positive I recognized one of the voices…" Cari said, staring into the fire thoughtfully.  "But I simply can't place who."

                "Did you see the face of the one who laughed?  You said he pulled back his hood…" Lindsey said.

                She sighed and closed her eyes to rub them exhaustedly.

                "I couldn't get a very good look at them because I was too busy running for my life," she said tiredly, getting up to head to the dormitories.

                Upon getting upstairs, Cari groaned and plopped down hard on her bed, throwing the covers over her head.  Lindsey sat on her own bed to apply the healing potion.

                "What's that?"

                Lindsey turned at the sound.  Cari had her bed curtains parted and was laying on her side watching her, blankets up to her chin.

                "It's uh, healing potion," Lindsey replied, holding up the bottle.  Cari frowned.  After adding the potion liberally to her own stinging cuts and bites, she wrapped them in a new pair of knee socks the Greens had given her for school.

                "How exactly did you find Duffer, Lindsey?" she asked suspiciously.  "And where?"

                "Well… in the dungeons, actually…"

                "Did anyone see you?"

                "Yes…  Professor Snape was really the one who got Duffer…  He was in a fight with Mrs. Norris, you see, and he got them out.  I tried first and he gave me this healing potion."

                "So… you didn't get in trouble?" Cari asked hopefully.

                "I never said that…"

                Cari groaned.  "What?"

                "Well… I kind of… lost ten points.  And I have detention all next week," Lindsey answered rather embarrassedly.  Cari was too tired to even respond and simply rolled over noisily in bed.

                Sighing, she too then plopped heavily onto her bed, pulling the covers up all the way.  It had been a long day.

                "G' night Cari," she said softly.  Cari mumbled sleepily something that sounded vaguely reminiscent of "good-night".  Lindsey rolled over and drifted quickly into another restless siesta.


	15. Professor Balbossa Strikes Again

~Chapter Fifteen- Professor Balbossa Strikes Again~

                A short four and a half hours later, the girls were woken by the sound of Kristin's perky voice trilling, "Come on sleepies!  You've got to get up!  It's not Saturday yet and breakfast is a-cooking!"

                Lindsey pulled the covers over her head and Cari rolled over and groaned.

                "Come on guys!" Pippy cried, jumping onto Cari's bed.  "Astronomy too late for y'all?"

                Cari had finally sat up and Lindsey peeked her eyes out of the covers to share a Look.

                "Come on, I want some food!  I'm not going to wait for you guys forever!" Lisa said, straightening her robes as she headed for the door.

                "Alright, alright," Cari moaned getting out of bed and stretching.  "Lindsey, let's go!"  She threw a pillow at the tiny bit of her head that she could see.  She heard her mutter what must've been some muffled obscenity, but got out of bed and sat blinking in the sunlight.  The two girls groggily pulled on their robes and followed the rest down to the commonroom.  Rupert was down there too.

                "Morning, ladies!" he said in that captivating Irish accent of his, making a gesture as of tipping his hat.

                "Morning Rupert!" was the resounding reply, Lindsey and Cari's slightly less enthusiastic.  Then Rupert broke in to one of the biggest yawns they had seen.

                Kristin giggled rather petulantly and said, "Late night last night, Rupert?" obviously trying to be flirtatious.  It was too early in the morning for Lindsey to even roll her eyes, and Cari barely even noticed.

                Rupert just smiled his enchanting smile and the girls walked together from the commonroom.

                The five walked to the Hall as usual, Pippy, Kristin, and Lisa chattering, Cari and Lindsey trying to wake up.  As they walked into the Hall, the overwhelming smell of bacon, eggs, and all sorts of other wonderful treats greeted their nostrils and woke them more than anything else would.

                As they sat, consuming sustenance to their hearts content, Lindsey pulled out her Potions book.

                "What's this?  Lindsey reading a textbook of her own free will?  I think I'm going to faint!" Cari cried, feigningly falling over onto Pippy.

                "I'm just looking up healing potions," Lindsey muttered, a touch of what seemed to be color almost creeping into her wan, perpetually gloomy face.  Several moments passed, after Lindsey seemed satisfied in her search for knowledge of healing potions, she slammed the book shut and started into her porridge.

                "I don't know how you eat that stuff," Cari said, wrinkling her nose and putting salt on her eggs.

                "Itsh bery good," Lindsey said with her mouth full.

                "Hey, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts today!" Lisa cried cheerfully.

                "Oh yay," Lindsey said sarcastically.  Lisa didn't pick up on it.

                Breakfast went on, Lindsey pointedly avoiding the staff table, and Cari never letting the conversation stop.  Then it was off to DADA, Lisa giggling pathetically.

                The class went about the same, all the witches giggling and volunteering for answers even though they had no idea what they were talking about, just to be flirtatious.

                "I think I'm going to be sick," Lindsey said quietly out of the side of her mouth to Cari.  Cari grinned and suppressed a laugh.  She had to agree.

                "What was that, Miss Wormtongue?" Professor Balbossa asked suddenly.  Lindsey jumped.

                "What?" she tried to play dumb and innocent.

                "What you said just then," the Professor prodded, fixing her with the most unnerving stare.  "What did you say?"

                "I uh, I said…" Lindsey looked around nervously as all eyes turned in their seats to stare at her.  "I said, 'I think the air is thick.'  It's rather stuffy in here, you see."  Lindsey emphasized by tugging at the neck of her robes.

                Professor Balbossa raised a dubious eyebrow, his piercing blue eyes boring into hers.  "Is it?"

                Lindsey nodded vigorously but could not speak; Cari was trying desperately to contain her laughter.

                "Do you agree, Miss Green?" he said, turning on her.

                "Oh yes, sir," she said, barely suffusing a smile.

                "Do you know how I possibly heard you all the way back there, Miss Wormtongue?" Professor Balbossa asked, turning back to her, that evil look still in his eye, as it always was when he chose to pick on her.

                "Nope," she answered honestly.

                "Well, perhaps you've heard of the Espynox Jinx?  No?  Well, it looks like someone has some studying to do," he said pointedly.  Lindsey's cheeks colored ever so slightly.

                "The Espynox Jinx," he continued, pacing around the room as he liked to, "is simply a jinx that can be put upon any inanimate object. Before class this morning I jinxed the very desk you are now seated in Miss Wormtongue," he said with cruel and triumphant amusement.  Lindsey glared down at her desk, wondering why she had to have chosen that desk on this day. 

                "Any sound uttered within the proximity set by the one who laid the jinx upon it is projected quite clearly back to their own ear."  Professor Balbossa put marked emphasis on "quite clearly" and pinned Lindsey in a pointed stare.

                Finally he looked away and addressed the rest of the class, starting a lecture on Espynox jinxes.  Lindsey sighed softly in relief, and turned to Cari.  However she dared not say anything: whatever she said Professor Balbossa was sure to hear.

                Finally class was over and Lindsey was following Cari and Lisa out, wishing to leave as fast as possible.

                "Miss Wormtongue?" Professor Balbossa addressed her from his desk.  She flinched, then turned to face him with the poignant, unreadable face she usually carried.

                "See you on Wednesday," he said with an evil little smile and a glint in his eye she didn't much care for.

                Lindsey turned swiftly and rushed out of the room.  As soon as they were far enough away that Lindsey dared speak, she said flatly, "That man's an ass."

                "Lindsey!" Cari gasped.  "Gosh, that thick air must really be affecting your brain…"

                "Sorry," Lindsey said, not really sorry.  "But it's true."

                Lisa didn't say anything for a moment.

                "Yeah, what he did to you did really suck…" she admitted.  "But he's still really hot!"

                Lindsey groaned and stormed off ahead of them.

                "Oh, way to go," Cari reprimanded her.

                "What?  What did I say?" Lisa asked in all innocence.  Cari rolled her eyes then, but shook her head slightly when Pippy looked at her.  They followed her lead and continued walking down the hall.

                Lindsey said nothing all during that break, or when they made their way to Care of Magical Creatures.

                Today they were learning about no ordinary animal (not that any magical creature is…) but thestrals.  Hagrid took the group of fifth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws into the forest, the group huddling together apprehensively.

                "Now, I put some bait for 'em out 'ere before lunch, there should be some 'ere now…" Hagrid said, pushing his way through the brush to a small clearing.  "Ah yes, 'ere they are!"

                There was nothing there.

                "Oh wow…" Lindsey murmured in awe, staring at the strange, skeletal, horse-like creatures with the great batwings.  She thought them to be beautiful.

                "There's nothing there!  What are you looking at?" Cari asked, craning to see over the tall red-headed boy in front of her.  "Excuse me," she tapped him on the shoulder.  He was a Gryffindor.  "Could you just… scooch over a bit?  Thank you!"  The red-headed boy moved over closer to his dark-haired friend.  Cari could hear him mutter, "But Harry… there's nothing there!"

                "Can you see them?" Lindsey asked the dark-haired boy.  His hair was all mussy and she thought it rather cute.

                He nodded his head.  "Can you?"

                Lindsey nodded as well.  To their left, Cari and the red-head were having a similar conversation about not seeing the creatures.

                Finally Hagrid said, "Oh, I'm sorry!  I should've told ya.  These creatures, thestrals, they're called, can't be seen by everyone.  Just by those who've seen someone die," he finished rather ominously, with a quick glance at the dark-haired boy.

                The class blinked, then looked at those who said they could see the creatures in rather a different light.

                "Lindsey?" Cari started tentatively.  But Lindsey ignored her.  The creatures were not so beautiful to her anymore.  She spoke not a word the rest of class, nor did the dark-haired boy that saw the thestrals too.

The five girls had lunch together then as usual, Lindsey just moving things around on her plate.  She didn't eat a bit of food. 

No one was saying anything so Cari, trying to lighten the mood, said brightly, "So, quidditch practice tonight?" hastily trying to draw the discussion from her dismal friend.

                Rupert, who was sitting just to the other side of Kristin, heard this and said, "Sure there is!  We've got a game on Saturday!  Only against Hufflepuff, though."

                Pippy laughed.  True, the Hufflepuffs were not the most fearsome adversary, but Cari did not really think it necessary to laugh at them.  However, Rupert quickly sobered and leaned in close.

                "But I've got some rather bad news," he said.  Pippy listened closely.  "You know Paige?  Our fourth year Beater?  She's failing Transfiguration, Charms, **and** Herbology!"  Pippy gasped.

                "How do you fail Herbology?" Cari asked, rather arrogantly.  Rupert ignored her and went on.

                "If she doesn't improve she'll be off the team for the rest of the season for sure!"  He leaned in even closer.  

                "And McGonagall," he gestured to the proud and stately witch at the staff table, "Will see that it's sooner rather than later, to be sure.  She thinks that school is much more important, and to be failing three classes, well…"  Rupert let his sentence hang portentously as he leaned back.  The four girls looked around at each other.

                "That's not good!" Pippy exclaimed.

                "Why?  It's just a sport," Cari said calmly.  "The girl is failing **Herbology**.  I think she could stand to have one less commitment."

                "Cari, we need a Beater!" Pippy cried exasperatedly.  Before the topic could be pondered or pursued any further, the bell rang for the end of lunch and the four picked up their things and headed to their last class before the weekend.  Pippy and Kristin waved as they walked up the stairs to Charms and DADA, while Cari , Lindsey, and Lisa descended to the dungeons for Potions.

                "I have to go to the bathroom," Lindsey said suddenly, and headed off in a totally different direction.

                "Do you think she's okay?" Lisa whispered a few moments after she had left.  "It seems like Professor Balbossa really got to her today."  Since after the first lesson, Professor Balbossa had made it a point to call on Lindsey at the most inconvenient times, when he knew as well as she did that she did not know the answer or could not perform the spell, humiliating her at least once every class they had.  However, up until now Lindsey hadn't seemed overly perturbed by it.

                "Yeah, she'll be fine," Cari replied.  She wasn't exactly sure about that, but she was sure Lindsey wanted to be left alone.  And so the two girls walked into the class and took the seats that they usually took, Cari towards the back for Lindsey, and Lisa to their left.

                They waited and watched, talking idly until the bell rang.  Lindsey still wasn't there.


	16. Encounter in the Library

~Chapter Sixteen- Encounter in the Library~

                "What did you see?" a girl was asking forcefully.

                "N-n-nothing!" another voice answered.

                "You lie!"  This was the first girl.  There was a pause, then, "Check the stalls."

                Lindsey could see three pairs of shoes from under the bathroom stall she was using and began to panic when one pair began to head towards her.  She didn't know who these people were, only that she didn't think she wanted to be found by them, so she pulled her feet onto the toilet and out of the girl's view… so she hoped.

                "Empty," the third girl announced, her shoes turning and heading back to the others.  Lindsey let out a soft, silent sigh of relief.

                "I'm giving you one last chance," the girl continued menacingly, "What did you see?"

                "I told you, I didn't see anything!"  This time the second voice sounded stronger, and more annoyed than scared.  There was a long pause, the air thick with tension, Lindsey barely daring to breathe.

                "Delia," the first voice ordered, "Do it."

                "But-" the girl who checked the stalls, Delia, started.

                "Do it!" the first girl interrupted her mercilessly.

                Lindsey heard the shuffling of robes, then a soft, "Crucius!"

                Now the second voice let out a strangled cry, and Lindsey saw a body fall, writhing on the ground.  The face was obscured, which wouldn't have mattered anyway as Lindsey turned her head away.

                "Maybe that will teach you to mind your own business!" the first voice spat cruelly.  "If you ever tell anyone about this, believe me, you'll get a lot worse than the Crucius Curse!"

                Then the bell rang.  "Come on Delia," she barked.  "We're late for class."

                Lindsey watched as two pairs of shoes departed.  The body on the floor hadn't moved and Lindsey was about to go out and see if they were okay when the person, slowly and visibly painfully, got up and limped out the door.

                There Lindsey sat, huddled on the toilet, wide-eyed and in shock.  What was that all about?  And what was that spell?  It seemed familiar somehow… she'd have to ask Cari when-  Cari!  And Potions class!  She was already late, and had to go all the way to the dungeons!

                Still in a bit of a daze Lindsey left the stall and ran out the bathroom to the dungeons.  Maybe she could slip in without Snape noticing.

                Ha.

                "Well, well, well, nice of you to join us Miss Wormtongue," Snape said derisively as Lindsey appeared in the doorway of the classroom, ten minutes late.    "I see detention was obviously not enough to motivate you to get to class on time.  Ten points from Ravenclaw!"

                Lindsey looked up at him, a peculiar distracted expression on her face.

                "To your seat, Miss Wormtongue," he ordered harshly.

                She sat down hard and gracelessly, her face hidden behind a shield of black hair, making a point to avoid everyone's eyes.

                "Cari!" she whispered urgently as soon as she was seated.  "Cari, I've got to tell you something!"

                "Not now!" Cari hissed, motioning to the front of the class.  Snape was staring back at them.

                "Are you quite ready, Miss Wormtongue?  May I continue?" he asked mockingly.  Lindsey nodded, looking incredibly embarrassed.

                "Thank you ever so much," he replied sardonically.

                He then went on with his lecture on the proper handling of newt's toes, then gave them the instructions to a mild laxative that contained them.  After those were on the board he walked about the room, supervising as he always did.

                Almost immediately he ran to Lisa shouting, "No!  Not like that!"  But it was too late.  Lisa's potion burst into flame accompanied by a pungent mushroom cloud of yellow smoke.

                "Miss Turpin!" Snape said sharply.  "Put out that potion at once and try again.  And I want a foot of parchment on what you did wrong!"  Lisa groaned and went about the tasks necessary to put out the blaze in her cauldron.

                After he had surveyed the entire room he announced, "I shall also be wanting everyone's homework from Monday now."

                When he eventually made his way to the back of the room where Lindsey and Cari were seated Cari had hers at the ready and handed it to him.  Lindsey fumbled around for her own completed assignment, for which she had been so proud of this morning, but knew better now, and could not meet his cold gaze.

                As she handed it to him she paused as she noticed the cuts on his hands.  Hers had almost fully healed with the aid of the healing potion.  The conclusion came to her quickly: he had given her the last one.

                She managed to look at him then but he just took her paper hastily and said briskly, "Thank you."  However Lindsey did notice how he hid his hands in the sleeves of his robe at once.  She watched him thoughtfully as he walked to collect the homework from the others.  Detention should be interesting.

                After class the three fifth years met up with Pippy and Kristin to head to dinner.  Lindsey had decided not to say anything to anybody about what she had seen in the bathroom and Cari had forgotten to ask what it was that she had wanted to tell her.

                The rest of that weekend went by fairly uneventfully, as usual, most time being spent doing homework or loafing about the commonroom, Ravenclaw winning their game against Hufflepuff.

                That Monday Cari and Lindsey sat sharing a table in the commonroom not long after they had finished with dinner.  There were very few people there; Pippy at the quidditch practice, along with Lisa and Kristin who had gone to watch.  As a matter of fact, that's where most people were.  All that were left besides Lindsey and Cari were a handful of first years.

                Unexpectedly, Cari slammed her Charms book shut.

                "It's not in here," she said with an exasperated sigh.

                "What's not in there?" Lindsey asked, looking up from her Potions book.

                "Something for my report on Temporary Invisibility Charms," she said, waving her hand dismissively.  "I'd like a little more information for Transfiguration, disapparation, you know…  Let's go to the library!"

                "The library!" Lindsey exclaimed.  That was out of nowhere!  But it did sound like a good idea.  "Why not?" she relented.  So the two walked down to the Hogwarts library, the first time either of them had been there.  Lindsey marveled that Cari knew the way.

                They sat in a secluded corner and got situated.  After that was done Cari said, "I'll be right back.  I'm going to see what I can get on those Invisibility Charms…" and walked away.

                Lindsey took a look at her rather intimidating pile of homework.  Then she glanced at the clock.  Six fifteen.  That meant forty-five minutes.  With a reluctant sigh she turned back to her homework.  Then she picked up her potions book.  Flipping to a particular section where she had left off, she realized she only had one page to go.  Then, happily, that there was a list of books to try for "further information".  Slamming the book shut she got up to find those books.

                "Taming Grindylows, Tea Leaf Reading… no, no… Now where is that darn book?  It should be right here…" Cari muttered perplexedly to herself, searching the shelf for the desired book.

                "Looking for this?" a smooth voice asked coolly from behind her.  She spun around at the sound of it.  There stood Draco Malfoy, Temporary Invisibility Charms in his hand.  He was smiling.

                "Yeah, I was actually…" Cari said, trailing off.

                "Charms homework, right?  I've got that too…"  They stood there awkwardly for a moment, unusual of a Malfoy.  Draco thought of this and then of the suaveness of his father and quickly said, "Hey, we've both got the same assignment… care to work together?"

                Cari looked up in stunned surprise at his invitation.  Fleetingly she thought of Lindsey.  _She'll understand_, she told herself certainly.

                "Sure," she replied, trying to sound perfectly casual and indifferent.  "Why not?  Let me get my stuff…"

                "I'll be sitting there," Draco said, pointing to a table in the other corner of the library.  Cari nodded and started off to her own table to retrieve her things.  As soon as she was positive she was out of Draco's sight she skipped giddily back to the table.

                "Hey!  Calm down, girl!  This is a library, for goodness' sake…" Madam Pince scolded.

                Cari stopped skipping but still walked quickly to the table.  Lindsey wasn't there.

                _Hmmm…__  She must've gone off for a book,_ Cari thought.  Glancing at the clock, she saw that she would need to be leaving for detention soon anyway.  Gathering her things all in a rush, she headed back to Draco's table.  As she neared, she peeked at him from behind a bookshelf.  He was sitting there, looking gorgeous as ever, absorbed in a text book lying open on the table.  Cari tossed her hair away from her face, straightened her skirt, stood up tall, then, taking a deep breath, walked over to sit at the table with him.

                She could think of nothing especially good to say, so she simply smiled as she sat down.  He grinned back and she felt had she not already been sitting she'd of fallen to the floor.

                "So, Temporary Invisibility Charms…" Cari started, fishing through her pile of papers.

                "Green, I don't recognize that name," Draco said, looking at her from his chair.  "Then again, you're not exactly from around here.  Were your mother and father of wizarding blood?" he asked carefully.

                Cari paused uncertainly, then realized they were having a conversation and answered quickly, "Yes, both my parents were wizards."

*   *   *

                Draco smiled.  Now he knew for sure she wasn't a mudblood.  That was good.  Why he had secretly been hoping she was pureblood he had no idea, and did not feel like addressing that now.  Well, he did have an idea…  Since that first Potions lesson the Green girl hadn't left his mind; then when he saw her at the quidditch match he had suspicions, and after her quick-thinking in the Potions class just this afternoon he was sure.  She definitely had Death-eater potential.

                Then he thought of her dark friend, Lindsey.  The two were rarely seen apart, so he may well ask about her too.

                "And what about your friend Wormtongue?" he asked.

                Cari wouldn't meet his eyes when she said, "We don't know."

                Draco looked at her inquiringly.  "What do you mean…?"

                "She's an orphan," Cari answered, looking up.  "She doesn't remember her parents."

                Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise.  Well… he hadn't been expecting anything like that…  But no matter.  Right now he was ready to work his Malfoy charms on this Green girl to see if she really was cut out to be a Death-eater or not.  If she was…  Draco puzzled for a moment at his unreasonable happiness at this thought.  Shaking his head, he returned his focus to the matter at hand.

                "To this homework then, I suppose…" he said, turning the book to face the both of them and leaning closer to Cari.  He smiled.  He knew exactly what he was doing.


	17. The First Detention of Lindsey Wormtongu...

~Chapter Seventeen- The First Detention of Lindsey Wormtongue~

                At twenty to seven Lindsey left the library, wondering where Cari had gotten off to.  It wasn't like her to just leave…  _Well, I'll be seeing her in a short two hours,_ Lindsey thought mordantly.  _It's not like she left the school or anything._  She shifted the increased bulk of her pile of books to her other arm.

                In addition now to her textbooks she had acquired The Dark Wizard's Index of Deadly Potions, 101 Vital Ingredients in Fatal Concoctions, and The Ways of the Dark Wizard: A Psychological Study.  She was almost glad Cari hadn't been there; she would certainly not approve of this reading material.  It was simply that this sort of thing fascinated her; she didn't know why.

                Before she wished it, she had arrived at the stairway to the dungeons.  Taking a breath, she started down cautiously and with marked reluctance.

*   *   *

                Severus sat running a quill idly through his fingers, watching the clock tick slowly towards the hour, feet propped up on his desk casually.  Five more minutes.  The girl had five more minutes to get here, if not…  Snape knew he would have to administer more punishment upon her.  He really didn't enjoy it despite how often he had since school started.  It was just…  He hated being so suddenly reminded of himself that it made him angry and he ended up hating her instead.

                Bitterly he wondered if he'd ever be able to get control of his own emotions.  That was another thing he occasionally missed about the Death-eaters: apathy.  Things are easier when you just don't care about others.

                Snape looked up suddenly as his brooding thoughts were welcomely interrupted by a sound from the door.  Hastily he brought his feet down and tossed his quill to the side.

                Lindsey Wormtongue stood there, rather downcast-looking as usual, though he couldn't be entirely sure as her face was obscured by her hair.

                "Take a seat," he said roughly, gesturing to the empty desks before him.  Lindsey moved silently to sit in one of the front desks.

                "Funny, you never sit there during class," he remarked dryly.

                She looked up briefly and shrugged, then just sat there, looking up at him with those dark, expressive eyes, grimly expectant.  _The eyes of a brave man awaiting execution,_ Snape thought suddenly.  Did she really think it would be that bad?  Yes, probably.

                "As you offered so generously early last Friday morning, if you would recall," Snape said coldly, "you will be helping me restock my shelves with healing potion."  He gestured to her to come to the cauldron on his own desk.

                "I'll be needing at least two vials worth of the Detoxifying Stomach Elixir, and another three of the Skin Relieving Balsam," he instructed her.  She stared up at him blankly.

                "Are the recipes in the book?" she asked finally, indicating her potions book.

                "Yes, in the healing potions section," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world (which it was).

                Snape watched as she retrieved the book, not sure if he should leave her alone or not.  From her performance in class he wasn't too keen on letting her attempt the potions on her own.  He decided to just observe for awhile and see if she knew what she was doing without the assistance of her constant companion Cari.

*   *   *

                Lindsey had no idea what she was doing.  Boy did she wish Cari was there right then.  At least she had found the instructions to the potions in her book, however now was the hard part: finding the ingredients.  She hadn't a clue what half of them were.  She stared at the page for at least two minutes, then went to the ingredients cabinet, only to stand there for another two.

                "Well..?" Snape tried to get her to hurry it along.  Lindsey looked at him sidelong, debating whether or not she should fess up to being completely incompetent or not.

                "I sort of…um… don't know what this is," she ended up admitting, taking the book to show him the ingredient.

                "An Abyssinian shrivelfig?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.  "That's taught in second year potions," he added derogatively, "What kind of wizarding schools do you have in America?"

                "I don't know," Lindsey replied quietly.

                "What do you mean, you don't know?"

                "I never went to wizarding school in America," she said grudgingly.

                "Well, where did you go then?"

                "No, that's the point; I've never been to wizarding school in America- or anywhere."

                "You never… How on..?" Snape couldn't think of what to say.  How was that possible?

                "It's nothing I'm very willing to talk about," she said rather sharply.  Snape raised his eyebrows but refrained from saying anything; although he usually didn't like that tone of voice taken with him from a student he let it slide this time.

                The two worked on the potions for about half an hour, Snape deciding it was best not to leave Lindsey to her own devices, and the first batch of Skin Relieving Balsam was almost complete.

                "Would you just add the boomslang skin?  I've got to get more ginger root from the back," Snape said, walking to the back store room.  He thought she could handle at least that one step on her own without messing up.

                He was wrong.

                Swiftly his black eyes scanned the dusty shelves, searching for the ginger root he knew they contained.  Just as he reached for the jar he suddenly heard the sound of an explosion from the other room, then Lindsey cursing loudly.  Abandoning the ginger root he ran back out to the classroom.

                "What did you do?!" he yelled in sputtering disbelief.

                Lindsey was standing behind the cauldron, her hair blown back and face covered with ashes and smoke from the explosion, eyes wide and unnaturally white in her blackened face.  Smoke was billowing from the cauldron and the ceiling above was blackened as well.

                "What did you do?" he asked again, now more quiet and dangerous, though still with a certain degree of incredulity.

                "I don't know!" Lindsey cried defensively, her voice strangely high-pitched, obviously petrified.  "It just… exploded, I don't know!  All I did was put in the…th- the thingy, and then it exploded right in my face!"

                "Healing potions do not just explode, Miss Wormtongue," he spat.  "What exactly did you put in?"

                Lindsey help up a large jar and Snape groaned.

                "Aconite!"  He clapped a hand to his head.  "I ask you to put in boomslang skin and you add aconite!" he roared in exasperation.

                "Aconite?" Lindsey simply repeated, studying the jar in her hand.  "Oh…"

                Snape truly wanted to bang his head against the desk at that moment.  And he had another week of this.  Her detention was turning out to be more of a punishment for him than it was for her.  He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, mastering himself.  He opened his eyes and almost laughed.

                She was looking at him with the most apologetic look on her face, made more pathetic by her comically disheveled appearance.  He was suddenly reminded of her cat, the whole reason for her being here now, essentially- what was its name?  Duffer, that's it.

                Snape, instead of laughing, took out his wand and waved it with agitation, muttering a spell.  Instantly the room was back in array, the smoke gone, ceiling clean, and cauldron empty.  Lindsey was rubbing her face with the outrageously long sleeves of her robe, mostly succeeding in smudging the grime, but clearing some of it.  She made a couple futile attempts at fixing her hair, but really only made it more unruly.  Eventually she just gave up with a sigh and looked at Snape.

                "Finished?" he asked cruelly.  Glancing at the clock he said, "It's almost eight o' clock now, we may have time to finish the stomach elixir if we move quickly and don't mess up."  He weighed heavily on the last three words, looking at her pointedly.

                Lindsey scowled, angry and embarrassed at screwing up so badly.  She would redeem herself though, she vowed inwardly.  And to some degree, she did, as Snape only had to stop her a few times before making more mistakes, and they got the two bottles of Detoxifying Stomach Elixir completed before the clock chimed nine, the end of her first detention.

                "Where have you been?" Cari asked Lindsey as she entered the commonroom behind the painting.  It was well after nine.  Lindsey shrugged, about to say something when Cari plunged on excitedly.

                "You'll never guess where I've been!"

                "Well, then I suppose you'll have to tell me," Lindsey said, leaning against the back of an armchair.

                "Draco asked me to do homework with him!"  She waited for a response.  "Isn't that great?!"

                Lindsey raised her eyebrows.  "Wow…"

                "Yeah I know!"

                "So you had a full-on snogging session in the library, did you?"

                "W- No!  You weirdo…  He first asked me if I was pureblood or not, and you too, then we started on the Transfiguration homework.  While doing that we talked about how stupid Divination is, and how annoying that Hermione Granger can be, that sort of thing."

                "Ah, discussing your mutual detest of the world," Lindsey said, coming to sit on the chair she had been leaning on, finally coming into the light of the fire.

                "Well, yeah, pretty much.  Then- what on earth happened to you?!"

                Lindsey looked down sheepishly.  "I, uh…"  She cleared her throat with embarrassment.  "I kind of screwed up a potion," she reluctantly admitted.

                "What, did it explode or something?  Ge- It did?!  Lindsey…"  Cari shook her head.

                "Yes, well, anyway…  Better get to sleep; school tomorrow," Lindsey embarrassedly, clearing her throat and getting up.

                "Ah, good point," Cari agreed.  Since returning to the commonroom not long before on a euphoric high, sleep had not crossed her mind.  Now however, she anticipated having some very sweet dreams.


	18. Quidditch Rendezvous

I think that this is entirely new content, or at least the start of it.  So can my old reviewers please come back?  Please?  *eyes well up with tears*  I'M A REVIEW ADDICT, OKAY?!?!  *sniffle*  Can you blame me?  Oh well, maybe I'll start getting more reviews soon…  (Thanks to dragonwing, cuz you keep reviewing!  Luv ya!)

~Chapter Eighteen- Quidditch Rendezvous~

                Lindsey walked silently down the empty halls to the dungeons.  The second detention on Tuesday had gone like the first, only without the explosion.  Snape had kept a much closer eye on what she was doing yesterday.  And she still made mistakes; that's why though she had served two detentions already they had only just been able to make the desired amount of Detoxifying Stomach Elixir and Skin Relieving Balsam.

                Therefore, as Lindsey came into the potions classroom she was surprised to see that the cauldron was not out and Snape was sitting at his desk, scowling over a pile of parchment.  She stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment, then cleared her throat slightly.

                "Come in," Snape said without looking up from his work.  Lindsey walked slowly in to sit in the front row.  There she sat, staring at him, still not completely comfortable.  Although, she was overcoming her shyness quite a bit.  Enough to speak.

                "Um… Professor?" she ventured.  When he didn't even look up she decided he was listening and went on, "Are we not making a potion today?"

                "You're very observant," he answered dryly, still not looking up. "I'm sure you've got schoolwork to get done?"  Here he did glance up at her pointedly.  She took the hint and pulled out her Charms book to yet again take a useless shot at her homework

                For several moments she struggled in silence, several times about to ask for help before thinking better of it and remaining soundless.  Eventually she simply gave up on it altogether and decided to practice Transfiguration instead.  She pulled out her wand, a very long 16 inch yew with core of dragonwing ashes.  However the unique core wasn't helping her whatsoever in changing her inkwell into a fire extinguisher.

                After many futile efforts she started banging her wand on the desk in frustration, hoping that maybe that might get it to work.

                "What are you doing?" Snape snapped irritably.

                "I'm trying to do Transfiguration," Lindsey answered pathetically.

                "What exactly are you trying to transfigure?"

                "I need to turn this inkwell-" she picked up the aforementioned- "into a fire extinguisher."

                "I hardly think that banging your wand on the desk is going to help, Miss Wormtongue.  What else have you done so far?"

                Lindsey stared blankly back at him.

                "Show me how you're performing the spell!"

                Now she understood and willingly demonstrated.  As usual, nothing happened.

                "See?" she asked.  "It doesn't work."

                "Of course it doesn't work," Snape began, coming out from behind his desk.  "You've got the wand motion all wrong.  Here-"  He produced his own wand and demonstrated.  "Now do you see how to do the wrist turn?  Try it again, and don't forget enunciate the incantation."

                Lindsey did try again, keeping in mind both the enunciation and the wrist turn.  And remarkably, she did it!  She turned to him, grinning, eyes bright.

                "Hey thanks, Professor!"  She got out another inkwell and tried again, and again it worked.

                "Alright, alright," Snape said, waving his hand to stop her from getting yet another inkwell.  "I'll not have my classroom filled with fire extinguishers.  What other homework have you got?"

                And so for the rest of the detention that night, and the rest of the week, Snape assisted Lindsey with her homework, from potions as well as all her other classes, for which she was very grateful.

*   *   *

                "Hey, where are you going?" Pippy asked in surprise.  Classes were over for the day, and they had only been in the commonroom about twenty minutes, and already Cari was heading for the portrait hole.

                "I, uh…  I'm just going to… th- the library," she answered rather peculiarly.  She was a horrible liar.  Quickly she scrambled out the portrait hole before anyone could ask her more questions.

                As soon as the painting was closed behind her she stopped and breathed a sigh.  She hated to lie, to anyone but especially to her friends.  She didn't even tell Lindsey she was going anywhere because she knew that she would want to come as well.

                And this was just something Lindsey could not tag along to.  But she was in the dungeons now anyway, serving her final detention.

                Straightening her robes and standing up tall, jutting out her chin slightly, Cari took a deep breath and started down the hall.

                Draco should be waiting for her.

                And so while Lindsey was receiving homework help in detention, Cari was walking down the hallway to meet Draco.

                The two had spoken after Divination the day before while Draco walked her to lunch.  Cari didn't feel too bad about ditching Lindsey; she got to walk with Pippy, Lisa, and Kristin after all.  Before heading off to his own respective lunch table Draco had asked if she'd like to come and watch the Slytherin quidditch practice the next day and she'd conceded.  He agreed to meet her a little way from the library to walk together.

                As Cari sauntered down the hallway to the library she tried to control her giddiness.  Draco had asked her to quidditch practice!  That was pretty much a date, wasn't it?

                _No,_ her brain chided.  _Silly girl._

                Of course it wasn't a date.  But no matter.  She wasn't going to trouble herself about things such as that; she was going to quidditch practice with Draco!

                Her heart jumped a little as she saw him leaning casually against the wall of the library with his broomstick, looking the other way.  When he turned and saw her he smiled a little and Cari all but died.  In her mind however, she reminded herself to keep it cool.  Didn't want to scare the boy away, did she?

                "Hey Draco," she said calmly as she walked up.

                Draco bowed slightly, never taking his eyes from hers, and said genteelly, "Miss Green."  Then he made a sweeping gesture with his arm to indicate the way in which they would be going and said, "Shall we?"  Oh God, this guy was smooth.

                Cari inclined her head graciously and started to walk, Draco coming up to walk beside her.  They walked on in silence for a few moments, then started in on simple small talk: school, quidditch, friends, and family.

                "Haven't got any," Draco said in answer to the question Cari had asked about his siblings.  "I'm an only child."

                "Really?" Cari asked, more excited than she should be.  "I am too!"

                "No kidding?"

                "Nope!  So do you just live with your parents, then?  When you're not at school, that is."

                "Yup.  My father, Lucius Malfoy," Draco said proudly, "works at the Ministry of Magic.  He used to be a governor at the school here, but Dumbledore threw him off," he added vehemently.  Then, "Do you live with yours?"

                "Just my dad," Cari answered.  "My mom's still in America.  Couldn't leave her job in Salem; she was the headmistress of the school there."

                "What's your dad do?"

                "He's an auror," Cari answered.  "I really don't see him much when I'm home."  After she said this she realized just how depressing that was.

                "Me neither," Draco said in the same tone that Cari felt.

                Before any more conversation could be pursued the pair had reached the quidditch pitch and Draco had to start practice.

                "Now you'll get to see how a real quidditch team practices!" he said, grinning arrogantly.  Cari smiled and went to find a seat in the stands.

                Cari spent the rest of the evening gazing dreamily towards the heavens, enjoying herself immensely, paying closer attention to quidditch than she ever had before.

                Boy, she never realized how great this game could be.

*   *   *

_                It was hot, so hot…  She could see the flames licking through the door and to the ceiling of the closet.  She couldn't breathe; she was crying but didn't know if it was the fear or the smoke.  Where was everyone?  Why didn't they come for her?  Why was she all alone?  The door was caving in now, the hinges melted; it was on fire and falling towards her and-_

Lindsey sat bolt upright with a start.  She couldn't quite remember falling asleep, but she knew she used to be in the armchair in the Ravenclaw commonroom and was now on the floor without knowing how she got there- only that conclusion could be drawn.

                She was breathing quickly, and felt her forehead beaded with sweat, though she was freezing cold.  She shivered.  The fire had long since gone out, and looked beyond being prodded to life with a poker.  She stretched and wondered what time it was, then tried to remember her dream.  As usual, she couldn't.  But she did know that it was The Dream.

                Suddenly she heard voices at the portrait hole, one of which she knew to be Sir Andrew's, very cranky at having been woken up.  Then a moment later a cloaked figure entered as silently as possible, though this was made less effective when they stubbed their toe and vocalized their frustration.  The hood fell back and Lindsey was surprised to recognize who it was.

                It was Rupert Render.

                "Rupert?" she ventured quietly, her voice hoarse.  Rupert jumped nearly a foot in the air, turning a complete 180, his wand at the ready.  Lindsey stood up, startled, but he relaxed when he saw her, and put his wand away.

                "What are you doing going around at this hour, Rupert?" she asked, stifling a yawn.  A glance at the clock showed her it was nearly 3 o'clock in the morning.

                "Just… hall monitoring," he said dismissively.  "You know, prefect duties.  Working late on homework, were we?"  Now it was his turn to be inquisitive.

                "Yes…" she said vaguely.  "I guess I fell asleep."  Rupert nodded.

                "Well, I suppose the two of us should be off to bed then!" he said cheerfully, heading to the entrance to the boy's dorms.  "Good-night," he added with a flash of his charming smile.

                "Good-night," Lindsey replied good-naturedly, though she rolled her eyes.  He knew exactly the amount of good-looks he had been graced with, and was not shy in putting them to use.

                Yawning again, Lindsey followed Rupert's lead and walked up to bed.


	19. A Tutor for Lindsey

~Chapter Nineteen- A Tutor for Lindsey~

                "You went to… quidditch practice with him?" Lindsey asked in the commonroom the next afternoon as the girls were getting ready to head down to dinner, raising her eyebrows.  This was more serious than she thought.  She knew that Cari and Draco had been speaking fairly often as friends since school started (it was now the start of October) but Cari going to a quidditch practice?  She never even went to games- unless they were with Slytherin.

                "Yeah, so?" Cari asked lightly, flipping pages in her Charms book.  "It's really not a big deal."  Lindsey wasn't quite so sure.

                "If you say so," she said unconvincingly as they headed out the portrait hole.

*   *   *

                "Albus, I wish to express my concern for one of our new students, from America, if it wouldn't be too much trouble," Professor McGonagall said as the teachers were gathering casually around the table for dinner.

                "Certainly not, Minerva," Dumbledore said amiably, giving her his full attention.  "Go right ahead."

                "I've noticed Lindsey Wormtongue to be struggling a great deal in class this first month, no doubt from her, em, extenuating circumstances," McGonagall said carefully, "And I'm a bit worried about how well she'll be able to handle O.W.L.S. come spring."  She and Dumbledore were (so they thought) the only ones that knew that Lindsey had never been to wizarding school before.  Albus listened to all of this intently.

                "However," McGonagall continued, "the thought occurred to me that perhaps if she had a tutor, one of the teachers here, she may be able to catch up by the end of the year."

                "That's a splendid idea, Minerva!" Dumbledore agreed in earnest.  "But who would be willing to tutor her?"

                "I'd be perfectly willing to," Professor Balbossa chimed in eagerly.  Too eagerly…

                "Albus," Snape interrupted right away, "Don't you think that a more, ah, reliable teacher- that is to say, simply one who has been here longer, would be more suitable?"  He glared pointedly at Balbossa periodically through his speech, an undercurrent of venom in his voice.  "As… noble as I'm sure Jon's intentions are, I believe that would be taking on too much; he is new here himself, after all."

                "I do believe Severus has a point, Jon," Dumbledore said apologetically.  "Is there anyone else willing?  Would you mind terribly, Severus?  I think she really looks up to you," he asked suddenly, turning to Snape.

                Snape raised his eyebrows in surprise.  She looked up to him?  That was news to him…

                "If uh, no one else will," he finally answered slowly.

                No one did.

                "Good!  So it's settled then," Dumbledore said with finality.  "Lessons can be at your discretion, Severus, being sure to work it out with her, of course."

                As Snape turned his attention back to his supper he caught Balbossa's glare and they shared a brief look of mutual detest.

                _Well_, Snape thought, _at least it's mutual_.

                Stabbing at a piece of asparagus on his plate he wondered what exactly he had just gotten himself into.  He certainly had no desire to teach Lindsey Wormtongue every day, or however often he decided she needed it, though he could think of worse things.  Tutoring Potter, for instance.  But why did he even have to speak up in the first place?  He thought perhaps he knew why.  Maybe he wouldn't mind these lessons so much; she was, after all, company.

                The reason he loathed Balbossa was, of course, that he had become the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but also a bit more than that.  He was suspicious of him.  There was just… something about him and the disgusting way that he flirted with all his female students that were all very… unprofessional.  Snape did not trust the fellow at all.

                What's more, for some odd reason during the past week of detention together, he thought he had actually begun to like Lindsey, or at least tolerate or even appreciate her presense, uncommon as it was for him to take to students outside his own House.  And he had grown protective enough of her to not want her excessively exposed to, what was in his opinion, a questionable professor.

                Of course he knew very well that Albus wouldn't allow a teacher in that he didn't trust, Severus couldn't help thinking of their four rather disastrous previous attempts.

*   *   *

                "Miss Wormtongue, a word please."

                The bell had just sounded to mark the end of Potions the following Monday and Snape caught Lindsey just before she walked out the door.  Lindsey turned to go back with a sense of foreboding.  This was her first night without detention; what did she do now?

                "Yes Professor?" she asked as she approached Snape's desk.

                "It seems," he said evenly, organizing papers on his desk and not bothering to look up, "that Professor Dumbledore feels you would profit from a tutor."

                Lindsey raised her eyebrows slightly, then waited for him to continue.  After a moment he did, albeit reluctantly.

                "Consequently, that tutor… is me."

                Here Lindsey's eyebrows shot up; that was pretty much the last thing she expected to hear.

                "I'm sure I'm about as happy with this arrangement as you are, however, the Headmaster insists upon it, hoping that you might be caught up in time for O.W.L.S," he went on.

                _Unlikely,_ he thought cynically.  Four years of wizarding school to be taught by a tutor in one year?  It would be a miracle.

                "Your first lesson will be Wednesday, then every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after that.  We could start today," he explained, "however; I believe you would agree with me when I say that I think we should postpone this as long as possible."

                _Well that was blunt, _Lindsey wanted to say, but resigned herself to a curt nod.  _Wow, it's like detention three days a week for the rest of the year!_ she thought acerbically.  Upon looking at Snape's face it was apparent that he mirrored her feelings.

                "That's all," he said pointedly.  "You may go."

                "See you Wednesday, Professor," she called back as she left.  So long as they would be together so much she thought she might as well make the best of it.

                Snape, however, she was not so sure of.

*   *   *

                It was getting to be the middle of October, and already the second week of Lindsey's lessons with Snape.  Thus far it hadn't been going so badly.  Most of the two hours they had was spent on Charms and Transfiguration, the subjects Lindsey needed help with most.  History of Magic also needed work but Snape loathed that almost as much as Lindsey.  Divination Lindsey said not to even bother with; it was all useless rubbish to her.

                It was almost uncanny the similar tastes they had in classes, Snape realized.  While Lindsey was always quite willing to work on potions, her favorite was Defense Against the Dark Arts, or the one she asked to work on most often, at any rate.  Of course Snape had noticed a rather more than curricular interest in the Dark Arts in her- he wasn't blind after all.  As of now he put it away as simply a sort of morbid curiosity.

                _That's how you started out,_ a small, evil voice spoke in his head.  Snape waved it away as one would swat a fly and Lindsey glanced up from her History of Magic homework to cast him a strange look.

                The real reason that Lindsey always wanted to work on Defense Against the Dark Arts (besides the fact that it fascinated her, at least when Snape taught it), was to bring the constant humiliation to a stop and completely show up Professor Balbossa.

                Yes, for some unknown reason he was still intent on making her life as unendurable as possible.  Every day the Ravenclaws had Defense Against the Dark Arts he went out of his way to embarrass her somehow.

                And up until now she had had absolutely no hope of ever gaining at least some degree of vengeance; however now… now she had Snape.  And he always had such impressive knowledge of the subject; Lindsey was now confident she would one day soon redeem (and avenge!) herself to Professor Balbossa.

                That Monday, the start of the second week of her lessons, Lindsey came to stand in the doorway awkwardly.  Snape waited for her to come in and sit down as she always did, and when she didn't, looked up.

                "Well?"

                "Professor?" she asked unsurely.  "Um…"  She walked in slowly, biting her lip, and not seeming at all like she knew what to say.

                "Well, what?  Spit it out, girl!" Snape impelled impatiently.

                "Do you think you could sign my permission slip for Hogsmeade?" she blurted, holding out a piece of parchment to him.

                "Wha-?  No!" he said, not taking the paper.  "That has to be signed by your legal guardian, Lindsey, it says so right here."  (The two were finally, taking into account all the time they had together, at least comfortable enough with each other that Snape used her first name outside of classes.)  Lindsey still seemed highly uncomfortable.

                "Well, yes, I know that, but…"

                "But what?"  Sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get this girl to speak her mind.

                "Well, I… I don't… have a legal guardian," she said softly, not meeting his eyes.

                Snape just looked at her in silence, so she said, "I'm an orphan."  (As if he hadn't already figured that one out.)

                "I've been living on the streets since I was twelve."

                _Well.  That would explain how she's never been to wizarding school, _Snape thought.  He waited awhile to speak, Lindsey fidgeting uncomfortably.

                "That does pose a problem," he said finally.  "What is it exactly that you want me to do about it?"

                "Well I, um… I thought that maybe you could, you know…  I thought maybe you could sign it for me?" she asked uncertainly.  When she finally looked up at him she said quickly, "No, no, sorry, never mind; it was stupid of me to ask-"

                "I haven't said anything yet."

                She stopped chattering and looked at him with a strained expression.

                "First however," Snape said, "May I ask who is it then that sends you to this school?"

                "Oh, well, see, that's a long story," Lindsey started.  "But, well…  Mr. Green, Cari's father.  He sent us both here."

                "Why can't he just sign your paper?"

                "But he's not my legal guardian."

                "Well neither am I."

                "Yes, but- well…"  Snape seemed to have her there.

                "It's difficult to explain, really," she continued.  "Yes, Cari's father is the one who sent me here, but I don't really think that he knows it; I've never even met him, you see.  It was Cari's mother that stayed with us in New York all summer, Cari's father was off somewhere because of work or… something.  I don't honestly know for sure."

                "Well then what about Mrs. Green?"

                "She's all the way back in Massachusetts," Lindsey replied.  "I don't know of any owl that could fly over the Atlantic Ocean, and I really don't want to be sending this through the muggle post; besides, that would take ages!"

                Snape was finally seeing the difficulty.  And true, though he was not her legal guardian, neither were they, and he was a professor here after all.  He'd have to speak to Dumbledore about it, he figured, and told her so.

                "Oh, thank you Professor!" Lindsey cried, seeming relieved for the first time that evening.  "Oh!  It's already quarter after and I've got some Herbology to finish for tomorrow."

                And so they began the tutoring session like normal, and it continued as normal from then on.

(A/N: dragonwing you rock my world!!! ^.^)


	20. Befriending Slytherin

~Chapter Twenty- Befriending Slytherin~

                "Draco wants me to go with him," Cari finally blurted.  It was nearing the end of November, although still no snow had fallen, over a month since Lindsey's conversation with Snape about Hogsmeade.  He had spoken with Professor Dumbledore and he had agreed, knowing more about Lindsey's past than she had revealed to Snape, or she even knew herself, and so Severus had signed her permission slip.  They had just had a trip there at the beginning of the month and Lindsey had had the time of her life.

                "Where?  To the library or something?"  Lindsey was absorbed in Herbology homework (can you believe it?) and was really only half paying attention. 

                "No, to… his mansion," Cari said slowly, then paused.  "His home.  For Christmas holidays?"  This is finally what caught Lindsey's attention.

                "What?" she exclaimed, her head snapping up.  Cari sat down heavily on the nearby chair with a sigh.

                "Draco suggested I come stay with them over Christmas vacation," she repeated.  "You know, with Mom still overseas and Dad at work all the time… it wouldn't be much of a holiday…"  She paused, then upon seeing Lindsey's expression rushed on, "You could come too, if you'd like.  I'd feel horrible leaving you here!"

                Silence.

                "Well…?" Cari prompted.  Lindsey took her time to answer, and when she did she spoke slowly and contemplatively.

                "How do you think your parents would feel about you spending vacation at a boy's house?  That's the biggest problem," she said.  Cari interrupted haltingly.

                "Well, uh, see…"  She laughed nervously.  "The plan was I'd tell my parents I was staying here to do some extra work.  They'd be perfectly fine with that," she added dryly.

                Lindsey blinked.  What was going on?  Cari suggesting lying to spend time with a boy?  And going to a quidditch game instead of doing her Astronomy homework?  Surely the world must be ending.

                She stared at her friend for a good long while, so long that Cari began to fidget uncomfortably.  Finally Lindsey spoke with conviction and straightforwardness.

                "Whatever you do Cari, it's your decision.  I'm staying here for break because it's my choice.  You have to make yours."  She shrugged simply.

                Cari looked at her a moment, blinking, then away in thought.  That wasn't what she had wanted to hear.  

                _Well, what did you want to hear?  _

She didn't know.

                "I'm going to head to the quidditch game," she said, getting up.  "Sure you don't want to come?"  Lindsey shook her head, looking at her strangely.  "Well… I'll see you, then."

                Cari walked out the door still thinking.  Although not what she wanted to hear, perhaps Lindsey's words were what she needed to hear.  It was her life, her decision.  Cari nodded to herself then, and proceeded to the quidditch pitch with an ever so slightly cleared mind.

*   *   *

                Lindsey watched the knight's portrait swing closed over the opening Cari had just left.  She was so confused.  Never in her life had she seen Cari act this way.  True, it's not like she'd known her all her life, but she knew enough to realize how very out of character this was for her.

                What she had said about staying at Hogwarts for Christmas being her choice was rather funny; she didn't have a choice.  She knew Draco had invited Cari, not her, for winter break.  She wasn't wanted there and she knew it.  Though she wondered if Cari knew it too, or if she was really that deluded.

                Lindsey sighed and closed her Herbology book.  She had a tutoring session with Professor Snape tonight.  She'd been having these for at least a month and Cari was well aware of that; it must've just  slipped her mind.  Resignedly, she picked up her things and walked from the empty commonroom down to the dungeons.

*   *   *

                "What's the matter with you today?" Snape asked exasperatedly.  For although during her detention and the start of their tutoring sessions neither had been too keen on spending that much time with the other, they had eventually gotten to be fairly good acquaintances, friends even.  At any rate, it was closer than any other student was to the enigmatic professor.

                Already that night Lindsey had made two mistakes on the potion they were brewing, and was only on the second step.  This was as bad as when the tutoring started.  And the only reason they'd begun work on the potion was because Lindsey's focus kept drifting off during her History of Magic homework.  Such was the case again.

                "What?" she asked dumbly, as if she'd just been woken up.  Snape gently removed the jar of newt's toes from Lindsey's vice grip hovering over the cauldron.

                "Newt's toes come only after the potion has cooled sufficiently," Snape reminded her as if they'd already been over this more times than he cared to remember.  Which they had.

                "What's wrong?" he asked softly.  Then to cover up his concern, "Because if you're not going to pay attention you may as well not bother me with these tutoring sessions.  And then you can forget about earning a decent score on your O.W.L.S."

                Lindsey sighed angrily and rubbed hr eyes with the heels of her hands, then ran her fingers agitatedly through her hair, which promptly returned to hang in her face.

                "I'm sorry!" she cried.  "I'm sorry.  It's just… well…  I'll try harder, okay?  I promise I'll focus."  She took a deep breath and steeled herself.  She checked the cauldron's temperature, then went for the jar of newt's toes.  However, Snape put his hand down on them first.  She looked up at him quizzically.

                "Tell me what's wrong," he said, looking at her evenly.  He said it simply, a statement, as regular as "I went to the quidditch game last night" or something.  Lindsey looked down from his relentless gaze, for once not able to hold it, wondering if she should say what was on her mind.

                After a moment of noticeable inner debate she finally blurted, "It's Cari."

                She finally looked back up at him.  He said nothing, just looked coolly back at her, waiting for her to continue, though waiting because he cared to know or because he wanted her to be done and get back to the potion she was not sure; his expression was unreadable.

                "I… I…" she stammered a moment, still not sure whether she should say or not.  Well, since Cari, her only confidant, wasn't there, she thought, this man was the next person she could confide in.  The thought struck her oddly.  Finally she decided and went on to speak with the apologetic urgency of a child who has to go to the bathroom really bad.

                "I don't know if I should be telling you this," she started with final reluctance before plunging on, "But I think Cari is going to spend the winter holiday with Draco."  She paused to see if there would be any reaction.

                She got none.

                "What's more," she went on, now feeling that she somehow must prove the significance of the matter, "she's telling her parents she's staying here to do extra school work.  Her father's an auror; there's no way he'd let her spend holiday with a boy, let alone a Malfoy."  She stopped abruptly.  She wasn't sure she should've said that; he was still a teacher after all, and supposedly he was close friends with Draco's father, Lucius.  She swallowed and stared, waiting for him to say something, not wanting to speak for fear she would dig herself deeper into the grave she had started.

                "And this bothers you?" was all he said.

                "Y-yes it bothers me," Lindsey stammered, still unsure of what kind of ground she was treading on here.  She was going to elaborate, but found she lacked the eloquence to; she didn't know what else to say.

                "Why?" Snape asked.

                "Why?" Lindsey repeated, blinking.  "Well, because… because…"  She didn't quite know how to respond to that one.  Then she decided the absolute truth would be best, even though this would be the first time she'd be admitting it, even to herself.

                "Because… well because she'd… she'd be leaving me… all alone again.  I'm sick of being alone."  She sighed.  "I mean, the whole winter break; that's two weeks, isn't it?"

                Again she couldn't hold the professor's gaze and dropped her eyes.  Suddenly she became fiercely embarrassed at the tears she unexpectedly felt pricking her eyes and began to blink furiously.

                Clearing her throat she said briskly, "I think the potion's ready for those newt's toes now."  She slid the container out from under Snape's hand without looking at him and began adding the required amount of reptilian extremities.

                And so the session went on, with Lindsey now able to focus a bit more and Snape remaining mostly silent the rest of the time, looking over her other homework assignments they had been working on.  Lindsey had absolutely no idea what he thought about what she had said for he gave absolutely no indication, even for someone as finely attuned as Lindsey.  This was one reason she liked him, she realized suddenly, and it was like a light turned on in a place you knew was there but couldn't see before.  She was so skilled at reading people that few were mysteries to her for long, and yet he was.  Still he remained a closed book and this, she apprehended, was the reason he intrigued her.

                The potion was nearing completion as was the time for Lindsey's tutoring session when Snape finally spoke again.

                She was just capping the last vial when he said, "Well done on your Charms paper.  I believe you may have finally grasped the concept of the motion charm, at least rudimentarily."  It was an odd thing for him to say, a compliment such as that, despite the fact that he made it as deprecating as a compliment could be.  Lindsey looked at him.

                "Thank you," she said, and she meant it.

                He nodded and stood up, checking the clock as he did so.

                "You can go ahead and leave now," he said, letting her out ten minutes early.  Lindsey nodded in gratitude and went to get her things.

                Once all was gathered she walked to the door, calling a polite, "See you Friday, Professor" over her shoulder.  She just heard the muttered reply from within and for some reason couldn't help smiling as she turned and walked down the corridor.

*   *   *

                That Friday, as Cari and Lindsey worked together on a potion in the last class of the day, Snape approached them on his usual rounds of the classroom.

                "Miss Wormtongue," he addressed suddenly.  Lindsey looked up sharply.  She had been just about to add boomslang skin to the simmering brew; she didn't think it was aconite.  Instead of chastising her, however, he said rather awkwardly, pointedly ignoring Cari's presence, "Is it right of me to presume you shall wish to continue lessons over the winter holidays?  Lord knows you need it…"  Lindsey nodded.

                "Good," he continued.  "And also…" here he faltered slightly.  "I've decided to perform a full restocking of the school's store of potions, ingredients as well.  I'm expecting this to take most of the winter holidays, but I can't do it alone," he added pointedly.

                Lindsey hesitated a moment thoughtfully, eyes boring into his.  He tried hard not to look away in embarrassment, but it was difficult.  God, it was hard to be nice!

                He sighed inwardly as she nodded her head slowly, relieved he could now walk away after his own curt nod.  Cari just blinked at the both of them, then shook her head, and continued on with the potion.

~~~ Oh my gosh I just have to tell all my reviewers how very much I love you!!!  *tear tear*  I know this has been a rather, er… long-winded fic (^_^;;) but thanks for bearing with me guys; I've been writing a lot lately and hope to bring this one to it's grand conclusion soon.  (Meaning sometime this year.)  So again: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  ^.^ ~~~


	21. Suspicions

Okay everyone, a REALLY long chapter this time; I apologize in advance for the potentially awkward and confusing jumps ahead in time.  This is where the actual plot line really starts to kick in and I just have to really get it moving.  Other than that- just enjoy and have fun!

~~~

~Chapter Twenty-one- Suspicions~

                Cari felt rather silly as she clapped politely along with the victories of Ravenclaw team while Lisa exploded into a frenzy every time a goal was scored.

                It was another match against Slytherin, so of course Cari was really only there to see Draco.

                The two of them had become practically inseparable, but Cari still got that swirling thrill in her chest when he flashed that debonair smile, or his white-blonde hair fell into his sharp grey eyes, or when-

                Cari stopped daydreaming abruptly when Lisa flew up beside her, wildly gesticulating and loudly vocalizing her support of Ravenclaw team as another ten points was scored.

                "Geez, isn't this exciting?" she breathed as she sat back down, eyes wide and face flushed with excitement.

                "Mm-hmm," Cari murmured noncommittally, her mind on other matters.  She did feel a twinge of guilt every time she went with him instead of Lindsey, even though she always had her consent.  But Lindsey was almost always in the dungeons nowadays anyway, so most of the time Cari's guilt faded quickly.  What bad feeling didn't melt away in the presence of her Draco?

                "Man, you really love this stuff, don't you?" she asked Lisa, who had been bouncing up and down on the seat, dragging Cari from her reverie.

                Lisa nodded vigorously, her hair blown back by the wind and her cheeks, nose, and ears red with the cold.  She looked positively radiant and Cari couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.  Smiling and shaking her head, she returned her attention back to the "game".

                "Where's Lindsey I wonder?" she asked as Slytherin called a time out.  "I'd have thought she'd given up on her homework and joined us by now."  Lisa looked at her strangely.

                "It's Wednesday," she replied, raising her eyebrows.  "Lindsey has a tutoring session with Snape tonight… remember?"

                "Oh!  Of course…" Cari said, smiling to cover her embarrassment.  How could she forget that?  She'd just have to make a point of asking how it went when they got back to the dorms.

                A short time before the game started up again Kristin came to sit by them.

                "Hey, guys!" she said brightly.  "So, are we winning?"

*   *   *

                As the four girls were returning from the quidditch match later that evening they ran into Lindsey, who was returning from her lesson with Snape.

                "We won, we won, we won, we won!" Lisa chanted excitedly, running up and dancing circles around Lindsey.

                "She's just a little excited we won our game," Pippy exclaimed, face flushed and still on the euphoric high of victory.  Lindsey nodded.

                "I can see that."

                As the three turned the corner into the corridor leading to the stairway of Ravenclaw Tower what they saw stopped them dead in their tracks.

                For fifty feet up on the wall before them was a massive death's head entwined with a snake, burning green.

                "The Dark Mark!" Kristin said breathlessly, a hand at her throat.  Below this a message was burning in the same magical fire that read:

                MUDBLOODS DIE FIRST.

                Cari's hand flew to her mouth as the five girls simply stared at the cryptic message.  Then they gasped as they saw that that was not all.  Below the flickering words, hanging from a noose tied to a sconce on the wall, was a crude effigy in a Hogwarts robe.

                Cari, Kristin, Lisa, Pippy, and Lindsey all jumped as one at the sound of more gasps ringing out behind them as more and more people crowded in from the quidditch match.

                "Let me through!"  The clear, stern voice of Professor McGonagall was heard above the general distressed tumult of the crowd as she and Madam Hooch pushed their way to the front.  When they got there Madam Hooch gasped and Professor McGonagall went quite pale.

                "Fetch the headmaster," she instructed, and Madam Hooch nodded and pushed her way back again through the crowd, now quite large as most people had returned from the game.  Professor McGonagall turned to address them all.

                "All students please return to their dormitories at once," she ordered.  Immediately prefects of the various houses began herding their students together in a general mob and each went off to their respective dorms.

                Cari and Lindsey shared a meaningful look as they followed the rest of their house, led by Rupert Render, up the tower and to their dorms.

                "Do you think it was them?" Lindsey asked quietly, holding up her massive History of Magic book to shield Cari and herself from the others in the commonroom.

                "The ones I saw that night?" Cari asked.  She thought back to the night she and Lindsey had gone in search of Duffer, to the bizarre ritual by firelight she had unintentionally witnessed, and shivered.

                "I think it might have been," she said, unable to keep a slight tremor from her voice.

                "So, those… those people you saw that night?  They were Death-eaters?" Lindsey questioned, watching warily and lowering her voice even more as a third year walked by.  Cari nodded again.  Lindsey sighed and raised her eyebrows.  She had been reading up on the Dark Arts since she had come to Hogwarts, and now knew at least something about the rise and fall of Lord Voldemort, and the ruthlessness of his followers.  Certainly a little bit of vandalism wasn't beyond them.  In fact, that wasn't usually what they restrained themselves to.

*   *   *

                "Hey, do you want to go build a snowman or something?" Lindsey asked Cari after dinner that Thursday night.  Now that it was December it had finally snowed.  It had been snowing all week and a wonderfully glistening powder blanketed the grounds.  Lindsey had been aching to play in it since the first flake fell.  "I don't have a lesson tonight, after all."  She was surprised to see Cari look rather uncomfortable, and avoided meeting her eyes as she answered.

                "Well, I kind of already have plans," she said apologetically.  She finally looked up.  "With Draco."

                "Oh…"

                "You could come too, I suppose…" Cari said quickly, though not too convincingly.

                "No, no, don't worry about it," Lindsey cut in.  "I've got uh…  I've got some Defense Against the Dark Arts I can work on, or… something.  You go ahead."

                "Sure?"  Cari felt bad now, but still didn't want to miss Draco.  Lindsey felt similar: she didn't want to be left alone, but she didn't want Cari to miss quality Draco time.

                "Yeah, I'm sure."

                Cari beamed in gratitude, then proceeded out the portrait hole, tossing her scarf around her neck.

                Lindsey sat staring at the empty table before her for several moments, entirely at a loss for what to do now Cari was gone.  She turned to look out the window to watch others happily taking advantage of the winter weather.  Eventually she even saw Cari and Draco head to the lake and begin to ice skate.  Bleakly she wondered what on earth Christmas holidays would be like, since Cari undoubtedly would go with Draco.

*   *   *

                "Lindsey!"

                Lindsey sat bolt upright in bed, and Cari jumped back in surprise.  

It was morning now, and Lindsey blinked frantically, trying to recall even a scrap of the dream she had been having.  She was quite a sight; her hair matted with sweat, shaking all over, her eyes showing too much white.

                "Lindsey, what's the matter?" Cari asked with great worry.  Lindsey saw Pippy, Kristin, and Lisa's faces also looking at her from inside her bed curtains.

                "Just a nightmare," Lindsey tried to put it off lightly, trying to calm her mind, but she was trembling.

                "What was it about?" Lisa asked.  Cari was just staring at her with intense concern.

                "I… I don't remember," Lindsey answered honestly.  She really couldn't remember what the dream was about.  All she knew for sure was that she'd had it before; many times.  And now she was very cold.

*   *   *

                Now it was Monday; the start of the last week before Christmas break, and Lindsey was in Snape's classroom as usual.  They were working on boggarts today.  Snape showed her the proper spell and explained to her its finer points, then had her give it a try.  Lindsey looked rather nervous but swallowed and nodded resolutely.

                Then Snape released the boggart.

                Her eyes widened in terror as the boggart burst into flame.  Then she began to lose it completely, dropping her wand and trying to swat things away from her head in a mad panic.

                "No!" she screamed hysterically.  "Let me out!  No!"  Her strange, non-seeing eyes shone with tears and horror.

                "Why won't you let me out?!" she sobbed in turmoil, sinking to the ground, head down on her knees, covering the back of her neck with her arms.  Then she got up again and began to flail her arms, screaming and seemingly trying to escape some awfulness that surrounded her.  Snape had stopped dead and didn't move; something was tugging at the back of his mind.  Finally the rather audible damage Lindsey was wreaking upon the classroom brought him back to earth and he pushed the unwanted thoughts away.

                "Riddikulus!" Snape shouted, pointing his wand and freeing them, if temporarily, from the boggart.  He then ran to Lindsey, who was still in that strange delirium, completely unawares of the real world around her.  He grabbed hold of her wrists and forced her arms down before she wrought undoable damage upon a shelf of some rather pricey potion ingredients.  Still in her mind Lindsey was wherever she thought she was and continued to lash out at random.  One sporadic leg movement caught Snape sharp in the knee.

                Crying out in pain he lost his balance and fell towards Lindsey, who broke his fall, still holding her wrists. He heard her head hit the cobbled floor with a thud and cringed, but that seemed to be what awoke her from her trance and her eyes shot open.

                Her pupils were hardly more than pinpricks in her dark eyes as she looked around wildly, a thin sheen of sweat on her face.

                "P…Professor?" she finally whispered bemusedly, giving him the strangest look.  Before anything else could be said however, a cold voice sounded from the doorway, drawing both their attention.

                "So, **this** is what really goes on during these 'tutoring sessions', is it Severus?" Professor Balbossa asked accusatorily, his blue eyes glaring down at the scene before him: Lindsey sprawled on the floor, panting and wild-eyed, Snape on top of her, holding her arms out.

                Instantly realizing how it must look Snape jumped up, glaring at Balbossa in disgust.

                "That **would** be what you would think, Jon," he scorned derisively, offering a hand to Lindsey, who gratefully accepted his assistance.  Once on her feet she had a difficult time staying so, for her knees insisted on buckling and the rest of her was trembling like a leaf; she clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering audibly.

                Snape cast her a secret glance of concern but she just nodded slightly (though unconvincingly) and he let her stand on her own.

                "Well what is it then?" Jon asked acerbically.

                "First let me ask you, Jon," Snape spit his name contemptuously, "What, pray tell, were you doing down here in the first place?"

                "It's obviously a good thing I was!" Balbossa cried, his voice rising.

                "Just answer the question!"

                "I came to enquire about my boggart- which I see just happens to be here.  Convenient, isn't it?"  Balbossa's voice had a chilling sarcasm to it that Lindsey did not like at all.  "Hmmm, I wonder if I could find the rest of my things…"

                "You came to check up on me again, that's why you were here!" Snape roared, unable to control his resentment any longer.  "And I do not have any of your things!"

                "What about the boggart then?  Explain that, Severus!  And you still never explained yourself as to the obviously illicit acts being committed before my interruption-"

                Lindsey had been watching this angry exchange like a tennis match with growing apprehension.  Slowly the two men had advanced upon each other and were now no more than a foot apart, leaning forward aggressively, yelling in each other's faces.

                "You mean you have the audacity to first accuse me of stealing, then-"

                "I know it was you!" Balbossa finally shouted in outrage, his French accent completely gone.  He reached for his wand and Snape did the same; lightning fast both were out and ready, raised for action.

                Before either could shout a spell Lindsey yelled, "Professor!" at the top of her lungs.  Both turned to face her in surprise, seeming to have forgotten she was there.

                "What we were doing, Professor Balbossa," she said evenly, "was teaching me how to fend off a boggart."

                "On the floor?" Balbossa spat, glaring at Snape.  Snape glared right back, though putting his wand away.  Balbossa reluctantly did the same.

                "I know you did it," he whispered dangerously, again ignoring Lindsey's presence as Snape backed away, never taking his eyes off Jon.  "I know; and you mark my words, I'll prove it!"

                He glared one moment longer, then swept out of the room ominously.  Lindsey looked up at Snape to see his lip curled malevolently, and his left eye twitching slightly, staring after Balbossa.  How she wanted to cry, 'what was that all about?!' but instead she said,

                "Do you see what I mean about his accent?"

                Snape finally tore his angry gaze from the vacant doorframe to look at her, then proceeded in tidying up the room.

                "What happened?" Lindsey asked bewilderedly, helping Snape to right an overturned desk.  He looked at her strangely.

                "I thought perhaps you would be able to tell me," he said with a quirk of his eyebrow.

                "But I… I don't remember," she said slowly, furrowing her brow.

                "Well," Snape started, picking up a chair, "you started going into complete hysterics, creating most of the chaos here"- he indicated the disheveled area of the classroom- "right after the boggart… burst into flame."  He studied her closely as she thought.

                "I don't remember what happened!" she finally cried exasperatedly.  "But you know…"

                "What?" Snape asked quickly when she didn't elaborate.

                "Oh, nothing," she said lightly.  What she had been thinking of was the nightmare she always had but could never remember… and was always cold when she woke up.

                Lindsey shivered.  She was freezing now.  Going to her bag she pulled out her sweatshirt (the disgusting one) to try and fend off the intense cold now enveloping her.

                "Professor?  Uh, what was it Professor Balbossa was talking about… exactly?" she questioned tentatively as she stuck her arms in the sleeves of her hoodie, though she knew full well that he was referring to the Death-eater damage of late.

                "Nothing that is any of your concern, Lindsey," he answered shortly.

                "And what did you mean when you asked if he was 'checking up on you again'?  You mean he's accused you before?" she persisted.

                Snape turned in agitation to admonish her, hopefully discouraging her from any more unwanted questions, but her sweatshirt stopped him fast.

                "What is that… thing?" he asked in obvious distaste.

                "Oh, this is just my sweatshirt!" she explained with a marked degree of embarrassment.  "You know, got it in a muggle, ah, store back home," she lied.  A dumpster was hardly a store.  Snape was still staring thoughtfully so she continued, "Muggles wear them to keep warm-"

                "I am well aware of what they do, Lindsey," he snapped, finally tearing his eyes from the decrepit garment.  She shrugged and finished putting the nasty thing on, now for some reason quite ashamed of it.  She had only clung to it for two reasons: for one, last summer she felt guilty and like she was mooching off the Green's, taking advantage of their generosity and hospitality, despite Cari's assurances she wasn't, and therefore did not wish them to buy her new clothes, but moreover, while coming here to this utterly foreign world it served as a kind of security blanket, if you will; a reminder of home.  Now that she was here however and most of her previous apprehensions were dealt with she had no idea why on earth she'd want to be reminded of "home".

*   *   *

                "There's only a week left until Christmas holidays, Cari," Draco persisted again that afternoon.  "Have you decided if you're coming or not?"  Cari hesitated only a moment.

                "Yes," she answered with certainty.

                "Excellent."

                Cari thrilled, as always, at his charming smile, though her stomach dropped ever so slightly.  She hadn't spoken to Lindsey about this since that night back in November.  Oh well; it didn't matter now.

                The choice was made.

*   *   *

                "I have detention!" Lindsey cried in a furor as she walked in for her lesson with Snape after classes that Friday evening.  "Again!  Can you believe it?"

                "The fact that you have detention," Snape said slickly, "I can believe quite easily.  The fact that it was not I who issued it is what surprises me."

                "It was Professor Balbossa!" she said in indignation, ignoring Snape's dry comment and yanking out her Astronomy homework irately.

                "Professor Balbossa?"  Now she had his attention.  As opposed to calming his suspicions as time went on, the sordid professor had only increased Snape's relative distrust of him.  Not to mention his annoyingly persistent accusation of his own "untrustworthiness".

                "I don't know why he hates me!" Lindsey went on crossly, mapping constellations on her parchment for Astronomy.

                "I could possibly name a few reasons…" Snape said, smiling slightly.

                "Funny, Professor," Lindsey replied with agitated sarcasm, not in the mood for Snape's dry humor, though she had really come to appreciate it.  The two were getting along quite well now really.

                "Why did you get detention?" he questioned with all seriousness.  Now Lindsey seemed rather reluctant to speak.

                "Well…" she began diffidently.  "I kind of, um… jinxed him." 

                "You… jinxed him?" Snape asked, a light coming into his eyes and his mouth twitching strangely.

                "Not him, exactly," she said quickly.  "Just… his pointer."

                 One of the more annoying things about Balbossa as a teacher was the way that he had recently decided to use a thin wooden pole the length of a yardstick in everything he taught; he used it to point at the chalkboard, to call on people for answers, and to whack students who were not performing that lesson's task correctly, things like that.

                 "And besides," she added as an afterthought, "It's not like the man didn't deserve it!"  Snape couldn't disagree with her there.

                She went on to explain to Snape how she had certainly gotten more than her share of whacks (more than everyone else in the class, by any means) and had simply gotten fed up with it.  That was why she took the opportunity to use a jinx that she and Snape had been working on recently on the accursed pointer stick, though she had had particular trouble with it in class.

                Consequently, the aforementioned jinx was rather similar to the Permanent Sticking Charm; it was another spell cast on an object, and the next person who touched that object would be stuck to it until the jinxer saw fit to release them, or they knew and executed the defense spell.  It was very often used as a sort of trap, like digging a hole and covering it with leaves and such so someone can walk by and fall in, only this was much more advanced.

                Lindsey went on proudly regaling the tale, not bothering trying to suffuse the roguish grin that spread across her face.

                "So he went to use his pointer stick, of course not knowing that I had jinxed it, and when he was done waving it around extravagantly, explaining how to block a Memory Charm, he tried to put it down, and of course couldn't!  After about six tries he finally concluded it was jinxed and got so mad…

                'Who jinxed this?' he kept asking, really angry, finally using his wand to unjinx the stick.  It's really true how his French accent gets suspiciously faint when he's angry.  Finally I couldn't take it anymore so I raised my hand.

                'What, Miss Wormtongue?' he asked, all exasperated.

                'Remember when you yelled at me for not being able to perform a Trap Jinx?' I asked.  'Well, I think I'm pretty good at them now.'"

                Snape's eyebrows shot up and a smile played at his lips.  This certainly didn't sound like the painfully shy and reserved girl he had been teaching for over a month now.

                Lindsey laughed, remembering the look of surprise on Cari's face at her interjection (Cari obviously held the same reserves as Snape), but then sobered up quickly as she continued.

                "Well, he got really mad then, really mad.  He wasn't yelling anymore.  Now he was just real quiet, menacing like, and told me that I'd have a detention, and that I was lucky I didn't get worse."  She leaned in closer and spoke secretively, "And boy, the look on his face then…  I really did feel lucky."

                Snape looked at her a moment longer, then laughed, actually laughed- a good, full laugh- at the thought of what that pompous professor's face must have looked like.  Still laughing musingly he ran a hand idly through his greasy hair.

                Lindsey joined in his sadistic merriment, his rare laughter quite catching.  _You know, he's rather good-looking when he smiles, _she thought suddenly.  Then she caught her breath sharply.  There- when he had moved his arm; she was sure she had seen it.__

                For when Professor Snape had rather carelessly brushed back his hair, he had unwittingly exposed what Lindsey instantly identified as the Dark Mark.

                As she walked swiftly back towards the Ravenclaw commonroom her mind raced.  The rest of the lesson had been spent as usual; Snape being in a much better disposition since his laugh at the expense of Professor Balbossa; he hadn't noticed the distraction Lindsey tried hard to hide.

                As soon as she entered the commonroom her eyes searched for Cari, her heart sinking when she couldn't find her.  _She must be out with Draco,_ she thought sullenly; the two were rarely apart of an evening anymore.  But then suddenly she spotted her, reading a book in a chair by the window.

                "Cari!" Lindsey cried, running over.  Cari looked up in surprise.

                "I think Professor Snape is the one leading the Death-eaters!" she spoke in a whisper, hardly able to believe her own words.

                Since the first offense of the Death-eaters about a month ago in November there had been three other acts of defacement, always with the Dark Mark, glowing green and ominous above the similar messages.  Then, the trophy room on the third floor had been completely smashed in, the trophies damaged almost beyond repair- that is, all the trophies but those belonging to Slytherin.  And just two days ago, Professor Balbossa had come storming into the hall at breakfast, raging that certain Dark Arts supplies had been stolen from his classroom sometime in the night- what Balbossa had been accusing Severus of.

                "What?" Cari asked, blinking.  "What do you…?"

                "I saw his… his tattoo, his scar, thingy…" Lindsey searched, rubbing her left forearm.  "I saw his Dark Mark!"  She stared at Cari meaningfully.

                "Oh… well then…" Cari murmured, eyebrows raised.  "Do you remember that night- when we looked for Duffer?"  She turned to Lindsey suddenly, and Lindsey nodded solemnly- how could she forget?

                "Well…" Cari hesitated one more moment in thought, then plunged on, "When I saw that… that ceremony and that one person pulled back their hood… I didn't want to tell you at the time but, well… it was Snape."

                Lindsey blinked.  That should be the end of the matter, and yet…  She liked to think she knew him better than that by now, and she could not see him doing anything of the sort.  Then she had a thought.

                "Wait, no… no that can't be!" she cried, eyes brightening.  "That night- he was with me, he couldn't have been there!"  She smiled triumphantly, recalling that Snape had actually been the one to retrieve Duffer for her.

                "Well yeah, I could've been wrong," Cari said quickly.  "But just because that wasn't him that night doesn't mean he isn't still aiding them."

                Lindsey thought about that.  It made sense, she supposed.  And Professor Balbossa had accused him of being behind the Death-eater activity just at the beginning of that week.  Still, she shook her head violently.

                "No, Professor Snape wouldn't do that," she said strongly.

                "How do you explain the Dark Mark then, Lindsey?" Cari challenged.  She felt Lindsey was being rather ridiculous defending an obviously guilty professor just because she liked him.  "People don't just get them for their fashion value, you know."

                "Yes, I know, but…"  Lindsey thought back to how he had given her the last healing potion the night of Duffer's rescue, had rescued Duffer in the first place, had obviously made up the "major restocking of potions" to keep her company over winter break, how he'd signed her Hogsmeade permission slip…

                No, a man with that much compassion, no matter how unwilling he most often was to show it, would not, could not, be a Death-eater.  She told Cari this.

                "At least, wouldn't remain a Death-eater," she added thoughtfully.  "I mean, no one's perfect- maybe he just made a mistake."

                "Mistake or no," Cari insisted gravely, "once you're a Death-eater, there's no going back."

                Lindsey stared at the floor.  No matter what Cari said, she could not believe that Snape was behind any of the wicked goings-on at the school; her confidence in him was fully restored from her brief moments of doubt.


	22. Malfoy Manor

Chapter Twenty-Two- Malfoy Manor 

                "Well, I guess I'll see you in two weeks, then?" Cari said, trying to be cheerful, trundling her suitcase down the stairs the next evening.  Though, any attempt at cheerfulness was made difficult by Lindsey's somber expression.

                "Yeah, two weeks," Lindsey's own forced optimism was much less convincing.

                "Look, Lindsey," Cari said, setting down her suitcase.  "I don't have to go if you really don't want me to; I can tell Draco no."

                "No you can't," Lindsey said lightly, smiling her awry smile.  "Really- just… go ahead.  Have fun.  Be careful, okay?"

                Cari beamed, picked up her suitcase, and started down the rest of the stairs to where Draco was waiting.  Then she stopped, dropped her suitcase, ran back, and hugged her friend.

                "See you in two weeks!" she said again, no longer having to feign excitement.

                Lindsey just kept grinning crookedly and waved as Cari descended giddily down the stairs.  As she reached the bottom she looked back at Lindsey one last time.  This was the last moment of doubt she had; she just looked so much scrawnier, so much smaller somehow…  Maybe-

                "Ready to go, Cari?"  Draco's voice sounded breathlessly behind her.  She turned and her doubt faded instantly.

                There were snowflakes in his hair, his face was flushed with the cold and he was wearing the biggest smile she'd ever seen him wear (outside of a quidditch pitch), his eyes sparking.  She accompanied him out the door without looking back.

                The two took a carriage all the way to Wiltshire, a very lengthy ride.  For the first hour or so (Cari completely lost track of time) they simply talked to each other, then as the hour grew later Cari began to feel her eyelids drooping.  She looked over and saw that Draco was asleep.

                Even in sleep he kept the same light scowl he wore when awake, though now he also seemed more troubled.  Cari studied him a moment longer.  He seemed much more vulnerable now, much less imposing; he just looked like a fifteen-year-old boy, awkward and unsure, completely contrary to the cocky, self-assured teenager he usually was.

                Suddenly the carriage jerked rather violently, throwing Cari's back up against the carriage wall and Draco into Cari, his head on her chest.

                Because of the way she had been sitting Cari's arms were now pinned by Draco's still sleeping form.  She looked around nervously, wondering what to do.

                "Draco…" she whispered, clearing her throat awkwardly and nudging him with her elbow, which was pinned under his back.  Draco mumbled and shifted in his sleep, then blinked his eyes slowly open.

                "Wha…?" he muttered confusedly, looking around, then up into Cari's face.  Suddenly his eyes widened and he jerked upright, finally realizing exactly how (and where) he was situated.  He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably, his face turning scarlet.

                "Sorry about that," he laughed with embarrassment.

                "It's okay," Cari assured, wishing to alleviate his discomfort as quickly as possible.  Luckily, it was then that the carriage jolted to a stop.

                "Well, we're here," Draco said, smiling at her.  Cari couldn't help but smile back; she never could.

                Draco got out of the carriage first, bidding her to wait.  Cari bundled her cloak up more tightly; it had been snowing when they left and from what she saw out of the glimpse from Draco's door, it was a veritable blizzard now.  _I'll bet Lindsey loves this, she thought, thinking already of her friend, and wondering how she was doing._

                Without warning, her own door, which she had still been leaning on, swung open, causing Cari to tumble out into Draco's arms.  However, let's just say that it wasn't the picturesque fall scene from old black and white movies.  

                Cari tumbled out with a startled yelp, arms flailing gracelessly.  Fortunately, Draco's arms had been holding the door open, and by sheer coincidence, were situated to catch her, though completely inelegantly.  Draco nearly fell himself, taken by surprise by the falling form, but managed to maintain a standing position.  While thrashing her arms, one hand had caught him right in the nose and he cried out in surprise more than pain.

                However, after the general chaos had subsided and both of them had a moment to regain their composure, Cari felt quite happy to be in Draco's arms and wrapped her own around his neck.  Draco set her down with quite a bit more composure than he had caught her with and took her hand.  Cari looked towards the house (or where she at least thought it to be; everything beyond five feet in front of them was obscured by the snowstorm) then back towards Draco nervously, so Draco flashed her a reassuring smile, and the two set off to the front doors Draco knew were there.

                "Father!" Draco called into the cavernous front hall of the mansion he called home.  "We've arrived!"

                "I was beginning to think your carriage had been sabotaged," a silky voice sounded from the top of the winding marble staircase before them.  Cari looked up to see none other than Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, walking down the steps towards them.

                "Father," Draco said, smiling as Lucius joined them at the door.  "This"- here he pulled Cari out from behind him, where she had been trying to become invisible like Lindsey knew how to do- "is Cari Green."

                Cari, not really knowing what she should do, made a deep curtsey, bowing her head.  Upon straightening, she saw Lucius smiling at her amusedly.

                "Miss Green," he said smoothly, taking her hand and brushing a kiss across her fingers, sheer blue eyes never leaving her face.  "Draco's told us about you."

                _Oh yes, this is most definitely the man Draco gets his charms from, Cari thought, shaking her head inwardly._

                "Where is Mother?" Draco asked curiously, craning his head in an attempt to see upstairs.

                "Your mother… won't be joining us," Lucius said stiffly, a shadow coming over his face.  Draco's smile faded.  "She's spending the holidays with friends."

                Cari could see that this was a delicate topic (Lindsey's skills were rubbing off on her!) and so attempted to distract them.

                "This is a beautiful house- er, mansion," she said, tripping over her words in her haste to change the subject.  Lucius's genteel manner took over once again.  He inclined his head in gratitude.

                "Draco," he addressed his son suddenly.  "Why don't you show Cari where she will be staying these next two weeks?"  Draco nodded and, retaking Cari's hand, led her up the magnificent staircase. 

                Upon entering the enormous set of intricately carven wooden doors the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor completely took Cari's breath away.  It was the largest room she had ever been in, excluding Hogwarts, with a ceiling so high the elaborate and innumerable candelabras could not penetrate the darkness far enough to illuminate its surface.  The hall was decorated in a highly classical gothic style, rather cold, actually, with gargoyles and the Malfoy family crest decorating the walls.  The brightest thing was the massive staircase.  Stark white and made of marble its shine was great enough to reflect Cari's face when she looked down as Draco led her up the stairs.

                After getting upstairs the atmosphere lost none of its elegance or dark and brooding feel.  The spacious corridors were lined with blood red tapestries and portraits of wizards she could only assume were from the Malfoy family.  She was surprised at how long this corridor seemed to go on, then realized that the house probably had an enchantment on it: it was bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside.  For though she had not yet seen the outside, since it had been obscured by the snow, she knew that no house outside of a castle could be this enormous.

                Eventually Draco turned and led her to another set of wooden double doors, much smaller than the front, and opened the wrought iron handles to reveal the room inside.

                "This is where you'll be staying," Draco with a smile as he saw her gaping at the room.

                "Wow…" was all she could manage.

                The room was decorated in hues of deepest green, with highlights of silver: Cari's favorite colors.  (Coincidentally Slytherin colors.)  There was an impressive four-poster bed with velvet curtains, in front of which sat Cari's luggage, brought in from the carriage magically.  Directly across from that was a vast fireplace, already with wood crackling inside and a clock ticking on the mantle.

                The other furniture, in perfectly accenting red-brown toned mahogany, consisted of a very comfy looking overstuffed armchair and ottoman, a spacious chest of drawers and a luxurious dressing table, complete with a large oval mirror and velvet-upholstered chair with what looked to be talon feet.  There was a door leading to what Cari could only assume to be a lavatory and a generous bay window, the kind you could sit at, the bench loaded with pillows and- of course- upholstered in velvet; the window draped in the same.

                "It's gorgeous," Cari finally managed to breathe; certainly much better than anywhere she had ever stayed before.  Draco shrugged dismissively, though it was obvious he was pleased.  It was then that the clock on the mantle began to chime in delicate, crystalline notes: eleven times.

                "Well, I suppose I should let you get settled," Draco said after the clock had silenced.  "It's already late.  There's a pot of floo powder on the mantle, should you need me for, you know, anything."  And with a last smile to bid her good-night, Draco closed the doors and was gone.

                First Cari just stood self-consciously in the center of the room, wondering what she should do now.  Then she knew.

                She began skipping around the room happily, then spun around in circles until she felt sick, and finally sprawled out on the bed, laughing herself breathless: she was spending a whole two weeks with Draco Malfoy!  She never thought she'd see the day…  And right now she wasn't thinking about how much her parents would disapprove, or if Lindsey was feeling lonely back at Hogwarts.  Right now the only thing she could think of was that this was the happiest she had ever been in her entire life.

                This was going to be a great winter vacation.

A/N: I had so much fun describing the Malfoy Manor I pictured in my head; I hope it was satisfactory for y'all.  If not well… there's really not much you can do about it!  -  I really didn't feel like writing in Narcissa (to be honest she's really not one of my favorite characters) so… yeah.  I also apologize just because, well, Cari is not my character (this is based off of some craziness of my friend and I, and Cari is her character, therefore making Lindsey mine) so I am never sure if I'm getting it right.  But the real life Cari has yet to start beating me with things yet so… I guess I'm doing alright!    And… that's all for my lil' author's note!


	23. Start of Holiday

Chapter Twenty-three- Start of Holiday

_This is going to be a crappy winter vacation, _Lindsey thought dourly the next morning. She had had The Nightmare again that night, again couldn't remember a thing, and had then tossed and turned fruitlessly for four more hours before giving up and coming downstairs to the Great Hall at 5:30.

That was where she sat now, alone, alternately staring awkwardly at the steam rising from her porridge and the snow still falling thickly from the magic ceiling above. She sighed and looked around the silent hall; she cleared her throat and it echoed. While she was the only student from Ravenclaw house that had stayed behind, she was sure she wasn't the only student in the whole school… was she? None of the professors were even up yet.

Sighing again Lindsey began sullenly to spoon sugar into her porridge, not really paying attention to what she was doing. She jumped as a voice sounded suddenly behind her, breaking the utter silence.

"Like a bit of sugar on your porridge, do you?" Snape asked amusedly, looking down at her and quirking an eyebrow. Lindsey looked down at the pile of sugar, at least equal to the amount of porridge in the bowl if not more; she really must have zoned out.

"Nothing wrong with a little pick-me-up in the morning," she said hastily stashing the teaspoon back in the sugar bowl.

"Indeed." He yawned widely as he situated himself across the table from her, a ridiculously large mug of black coffee appearing before him; he hated insomnia. He really had not expected anyone other than himself to be awake at this Godforsaken hour.

"Are you always this early a riser?" he asked skeptically. Lindsey shook her head, having a time of stirring her porridge made thick by the sugar. With some difficulty she pulled out a spoonful, making a peculiar dry squelching sound.

"Just… had trouble sleeping," she answered finally, staring dubiously at her heaping spoon of sugar porridge.

Snape nodded, his mouth twitching, trying to suffuse a smile, watching Lindsey's face as she chewed the sugary spoonful, sounding like she was grinding wet sand. She swallowed with obvious effort, then downed half her pumpkin juice.

"It's good," she said hoarsely and hardly convincingly. Reluctantly she lifted another spoonful, just staring at it like she was willing it to disappear. After a few moments of this she finally just set her spoon down, saying, "You know, I'm really not hungry this morning," then looked away as her stomach rumbled. She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Still willing to assist with the potions restocking?" Snape asked, hiding his smile behind his coffee mug.

"Oh yes," Lindsey said eagerly.

"Well, I'd like to get started today-" he began.

"Okay!" she exclaimed, jumping up.

"I didn't mean now," he said pointedly, not moving.

"Oh." Lindsey sat down quickly.

"Besides," he went on, swallowing some more coffee, "we'll need to pay a visit to the Apothecary before we can make anything, and there's no way we'll get out in this weather." Snape gestured to the snowstorm raging above them. Lindsey nodded comprehensively though he couldn't miss the shadow that befell her face.

Finishing off his coffee in one gulp Snape stood, with one last look at the ceiling.

"Come and see me as soon as this stops," he directed. "No windows in the dungeon, you know."

"Of course," Lindsey agreed, as Snape left the table with a slight inclination of his head.

For several moments after he left Lindsey stared suspiciously at her bowl of sugar, then simply gave up and pushed it away, getting up and heading to the commonroom to await the letting-up of the snow.

* * *

When Cari woke the next morning she couldn't remember where she was. She was about to stick her head out of her bedcurtains and see if Lindsey was up yet when it dawned on her: she was at Malfoy Manor! Jumping out of bed she dressed swiftly then drew back the curtains of the bay window to reveal a veil of white; it was still snowing. 

The clock was striking eight when she opened the doors of her room. She stuck her head out and looked both ways down the corridor, uncertain as to the way to go. Lucius and Draco were the only people in the house aside from herself, so she decided to explore until she found one of them. _Besides,_ she assured herself, closing the door behind her, _I'll probably run into a house elf first and they can tell me where to find them._

And so Cari walked cautiously past paintings of looming witches and wizards, glaring down at her imperiously, making her feel rather nervous. This anxiety increased as she continued walking in the direction she thought they had come from last night with no sight of the grand staircase. Then, much to her relief, she heard voices; too low to be Draco's she assumed it was Lucius and followed the sound of it down the hall. She stopped short just outside the door when she heard another voice. _Lucius must have company or something_, she thought,_ though it is early… _Curiosity winning over propriety (and probably better judgment) she silently opened the door a crack, just enough to see in.

She saw Lucius, but there was no one else in the room to which he could be talking to. Then she saw his fireplace burning green- floo powder! Although she couldn't see the head in the flames she knew it was there; she could hear the voice however couldn't make out what it was saying. It surprised her to think that it sounded somewhat familiar. She pressed her ear to the crack as Lucius began to speak.

"How…?" he demanded with suppressed rage, more to himself than the head in the fire.

"Of course I know there's a spy!" he snapped after the head said something Cari still failed to hear.

"They must be found-" Lucius began, but just then a house elf tugged at the hem of Cari's robes, startling her so she slammed the door with a creak and fell right on her rear. The house elf was startled even more and scampered off instantly.

Cari looked around for it angrily, then froze as a shaft of light opened right over her. She looked reluctantly up into the icy blue eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

"Can I… help you, Miss Green?" he asked with strained civility, though Cari knew he had been caught off guard and was riled.

"Sorry, Mr. Malfoy," she breathed, taking the hand he proffered to help her up. "I… was trying to find Draco… and I heard your voice, so… I was going to ask you where he was but, I… I-I slipped and…" She let her lie hang, unnerved by his intent gaze; she was a horrible liar. Then he nodded slowly.

"Draco should be just downstairs," he said slowly, not taking his eyes off hers; Cari was certain he didn't believe a word she said. "If you'll just follow that hallway"- he gestured to the right- "you'll be right at the staircase; you should be able to find you way from there."

Cari nodded quickly, flashed a nervous smile, and swiftly made her retreat. She walked down the aforementioned corridor, trying to slow her racing heart, and, sure enough, there was the marble stair. Making her way down she took several deep breaths before going to find Draco.

The three ate dinner together that night at one end of a long stone table, Lucius at the head, Draco to his left, and Cari to his right, in Narcissa's vacant seat. House elves served the meal, as fine as any at Hogwarts. The conversation was mild: doings back at school and news from the Ministry of Magic.

"So Cari," Lucius began pleasantly, turning towards her. "Tell me something about yourself; Draco hasn't told us nearly enough." And so Cari told him, about how she grew up in Salem, Massachusetts and her mother the headmistress there. Lucius stiffened when she said her father was an auror.

"Will you… wish to carry on the family business?" he asked carefully. Draco was watching the conversation between them like a hawk.

"I've never really had an interest," Cari answered slowly, saying neither yes nor no. Lucius nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Things went on about the same for the next two days, Draco showing Cari around the mansion or just hanging about, waiting for the snow to stop, and generally enjoying their freedom.

* * *

It took three days to stop snowing but as soon as it did, Lindsey was down in Snape's office, cloak, scarf, and gloves already on. Snape looked up from the book he was reading when he heard the frantic stomping of shoes coming down the hallway. 

"Profe-" Lindsey had just sprinted down the hall and started to yell, but as she ran around the doorway into his office she slipped on the edge of her robe and dropped like a sack of potatoes.

"It's stopped snowing!" she exclaimed as she jumped back up, falling again in the process, though still seeming unfazed. She absolutely loved snow and had never gotten it back home; when it snows in New York City, it just gets kind of black and slushy.

"I'll wait for you outside Professor!" she called over her shoulder as she scampered out the door. Snape just blinked for a moment at this rather uncharacteristic display of bubbly enthusiasm. Shaking his head he got up and snatched his own cold weather raiment to follow Lindsey outside.

As they walked to Hogsmeade (no simple task seeing as the snow was so deep after three straight days and nights of blizzard) Lindsey couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so exuberant, and it must have been catching because Snape was feeling pretty good himself, surprising even to him.

The pair went first to the Apothecary and purchased all the necessary potions ingredients, then Lindsey made them stop at Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop for a last minute Christmas present for Cari. Then they headed back to the castle.

* * *

Hey! Hope y'all enjoyed that. I just could really picture Snape being an insomniac and a total coffee addict, couldn't you? No? Just me then… okay. Well, I'll probably update… well, what the heck, I'll update the next chapter right now! You see, the next chapter is a particular favorite of mine. Well, read on!


	24. Snow

OOC warning! This chapter of extreme fluff may seem totally OOC (or maybe not) but you know what, I thought it fitting and just plain fun to write, and gosh darn it sometimes LIFE is just OOC! And what can I say? Snow can have magical effects on people! So have fun reading this chapter and don't take it too seriously- I felt the need to give my characters a well-deserved break from the dramatic.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-four- Snow

"Hey Draco…" Cari said coyly, waiting for the boy to turn his unsuspecting head. As soon as he did- WHAM! Draco was met with a face full of cold snow.

"Oh so that's how you want to play, is it?" he asked mischievously, taking the mound of snow he had been rolling into a snowman and hoisting it into throwing position.

"No!" Cari cried, giggling madly, trying to escape the inevitable attack.

The snow had stopped early that morning (three days later) and there was now at least a four foot layer of snow on the ground, up to six feet in some of the drifts. All of this made it nearly impossible for Cari to flee. She felt the mammoth snowball hit her right in the back, pushing her forward into a snowdrift, all the while laughing hysterically.

She just lay there for a moment, waiting to attack as soon as an opportunity presented itself.

"Sorry, Cari," Draco said, laughing and coming over to assist her, thinking she needed it. How wrong he was! As soon as he was within range Cari attacked, throwing a huge loose pile of snow up in his face. He fell back, blinking and sputtering. Cari laughed again, then scrambled to get away as Draco cleared his eyes.

"Oh no you don't!" he shouted playfully, tackling her in the snow. She thrashed beneath him, throwing snow up in his face.

"Hey!" he cried, relinquishing. Cari sat up, her face flushed with laughter and cold, eyes bright. 

"I just couldn't resist, Draco!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

A playful glint in his eye, Draco gathered up a good-sized pile of snow behind his back, and as soon as she started to get up he assailed her, bombarding her with handful after handful of snow.

"Oh, that's it!" Cari cried, smiling and shaking her head. The two of them then began tossing snow haphazardly, laughing and shouting and shrieking (Cari, anyway), creating the second largest snowball fight Malfoy Manor had ever seen. Their tumult grew to such a clamor that Lucius eventually came out to see.

"What on-" But he never got to finish his sentence since at that exact moment he got a double attack of snow right in the face.

Cari gasped, dropping her snowball.

"Oops…" she bit her lip to suffuse her laughter. Draco, however, didn't bother.

"Sorry about that, Father!" he cried simply, beaming, and really not sounding sorry at all.

Lucius slowly began wiping snow from his face, his mouth twitching.

"Oh, don't think you'll get away with it that easily," he said dangerously, then proceeded in attacking both Draco and Cari with his own handfuls of snow.

"Father!" Draco cried, never seeing Mr. Malfoy consorting in childish activities such as this.

"What? Do you think I was never fifteen years old?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, his perfect hair uncharacteristically unkempt. With a look at Cari they both then proceeded in double-teaming Draco, and the three spent the rest of the morning participating in the largest snowball fight Malfoy Manor had ever seen, and generally being wild and unruly and completely out of the ordinary.

* * *

As they trekked across the open grounds back to Hogwarts Severus was attempting to explain the art of Occlumency to Lindsey.

"So it's like mind-reading?" Lindsey asked.

"No, that's Legilimency," Snape corrected.

"So then Occlumency i-" but Lindsey never got to finish her sentence, for her next step was directly into a drift of snow over six feet deep; stumbling she completely disappeared in the soft powder.

Snape let out a bark of laughter in sheer surprise, then was unable to stop himself from breaking into a veritable fit of it, laughing hard like he had at Professor Balbossa, only differently- warmer. He laughed until he gasped for breath, eyes tearing; still Lindsey hadn't been able to get back up.

Severus was about to master himself enough to ask if she was okay when a snowball from the hole Lindsey had disappeared through got him right in the face and an icy barrage of loose snow followed. Lindsey giggled, then pressed a hand to her mouth to stop it, her head peeking out of the hole, watching Snape's look of utter surprise.

"Oh, you're not going to get away with that," he said, his voice menacing, though this was made less so by the wide grin on his face. His eyes sparking he began gathering snow and Lindsey scrambled frantically to escape. Just as she was liberated from the snow ditch Snape attacked and Lindsey almost fell back into the drift to escape the pelting snowballs. Laughing, she turned to tell him okay, okay, sorry, but as she was about to speak another snowball caught her right between the eyes.

"Alright, that's it!" she cried, grabbing up a pile of snow. "Now you've done it!"

Snape bent to scoop up more himself but when he straightened she was gone. He looked around warily, shaking his head at himself inwardly for consorting in such behaviors and enjoying it so much. He whirled around upon feeling a tugging at the back of his robes.

Lindsey, who had been trying as delicately as possible to pull back the neck of his robes and then proceed in dumping snow down his back , squeaked in surprise, and dropped her ammunition.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Snape said, smiling deviously. Dropping his own pile of snow he picked her up by the legs and slung her, kicking and laughing, over his shoulder to dump her into the snow drift again. He stood over her for a moment, laughing. Lindsey sat in the hole, face flushed, hair a mess, clutching a stitch in her side, and just cracking up.

Finally catching his breath somewhat Snape gave in and extended his hand to help her out of the snow ditch. Lindsey reached up and took hold, but then used all her strength to yank him headfirst into the hole with her.

"Ha!" she exclaimed triumphantly, now laughing over him. Then with a cry she scurried to get out of the hole before Snape could free himself from the tangle of robes and snow but was too slow, Snape grabbed her feet and pulled her back in. After that they both gave up trying to get out and just pelted each other with snow in there, reveling in the day and creating a ruckus, and generally just making fools of themselves and enjoying every minute.


	25. Class Resumes and OWLS Approach

Chapter Twenty-five- Class Resumes and OWLS Approach

                "Have you ever thought about it Cari?" Draco asked when they were sitting by the fireplace drinking hot cocoa after their wild snowball fight.  "I mean, the greatest wizard in the world… and you'd be right there by his side.  What could there possibly be to fear?  Nothing.  Who wouldn't want to follow him?"

                Cari didn't respond, simply staring into her steaming mug, watching the foam swirl on the surface.  Lucius watched this from over his own mug shrewdly, his sharp blue eyes calculating this girl who had so much potential.  She was smart, he knew.  Sooner or later she would see the light, she would understand- of that he was certain.

                "Professor?" Lindsey asked tentatively as she poured two cups of tea, both of them now in the dungeons after their exhausting romp in the snow.

                Snape raised his eyebrows and cocked his head slightly, waiting for her to continue, accepting his cup with a small nod of thanks.

                Lindsey hesitated, sitting down with her own tea, warming her frozen fingers in the steam.  She was debating whether or not she should mention his Dark Mark; she was aching to ask.  She ran her finger around the edge of the cup contemplatively.  She looked up to see Snape watching her intently.

                "Nevermind," she said smiling.  "It's…it's nothing."

                Snape shrugged dismissively and turned his attention back to cooling off his tea.

                Cari took a deep breath, enjoying the icy air in her nose, the clean, cool breeze on her face, and the invigorating, liberated feeling it gave her.  She and Draco had decided to take a walk around the grounds before dinner the next night.  The sun had not yet set and the last golden rays were sparkling warmly off the crisp, pristine snow.  Icicles hung shimmering from the leafless trees making for a truly magical atmosphere.  Cari and Draco walked on, talking lightly, enjoying each other's presence.  During a lapse in the conversation Cari heard a bird call.

                "Hey, did you hear that?" she asked Draco, smiling and looking around to see what could be making such a lovely noise.

                "I heard nothing," Draco said, also looking around to see what Cari was talking about.  However Cari turned to him abruptly.

                "W-what did you say?" she stammered.  Draco looked at her quizzically.

                "I just said I didn't hear anything," he said lightly, looking concerned.  Cari had gone quite pale.  "Do you want to sit down or something?"  He indicated a relatively clear, dry bench they had come to where Cari was sure there'd have been a garden had the blanket of snow not been there.

                "Sure…" Cari said distractedly.

                When Draco had said that something had clicked in her brain.  What was it?  She searched her mind to try and find what it had reminded her of- there!  She gasped as the revelation hit her.

                Draco was the voice she had recognized at the Death-eater meeting she had unwittingly walked into last fall.

                "Are you sure you're alright, Cari?" Draco asked anxiously.  Cari looked at him.

                "I'm fine," she finally said, a smile gracing her features, causing Draco to smile too.  For when she looked at him, she realized that that didn't matter.

                They sat on the bench for awhile, talking and watching the sun set.

                A brisk wind blew and Cari snuggled back into the bench, surprised when it turned out to be Draco; she hadn't realized how close he was.  However she certainly wasn't complaining.  From his smile she could tell neither was he.

                "We should probably start back for dinner now," Cari said, getting up reluctantly.  She stopped when she felt Draco's hand on her arm.

                "Just… wait a second," he said.  Cari sat back down.

                Before she could even really realize what was happening Draco leaned forward and was kissing her, light and quick on the lips.

                He drew back to gauge her reaction, slightly embarrassed when he saw her frozen look of shock.

                "Yeah, well, I g-"  But Draco never got to finish because Cari leaned forward quickly and planted her own fervent kiss, hands on the back of his head.  Draco was surprised initially, but quickly recovered and leaned into it, running a hand up her back.

                This went on, neither of them knowing for how long, and it is not for me to disclose.  Let's just say… it could have made the snow melt.

                "And where have you two been?" Lucius asked, attempting to mask his speculative amusement at their breathless, disheveled, and generally euphoric appearance.

                "Um…"  Draco and Cari looked at each other, grinning broadly, at a loss for what to say.  Cari blushed deeply.

                "Just…walking," Draco answered semi-convincingly.

                Lucius raised a questioning eyebrow but did not press the issue.

                "Well, sit down."

                Cari and Draco each sat in their respective chairs at the dinner table; they were inevitably late for supper.

                The two blissful weeks of freedom were over much too soon for anyone's liking and most people took their time getting back to school the day before classes so that it wasn't until about 10:00 that Cari ascended the stairs to the Ravenclaw girls dormitory.  She walked in to find Lindsey lying on her stomach on her bed, her chin in her hands, and Duffer curled into a purring ball on her back, listening to everyone talking about their Christmas breaks at once.  It took her several moments to even notice Cari had arrived amongst the chaos.

                "Cari!" she cried happily when she finally did notice her, jumping up and sending a disgruntled Duffer tumbling to the bed.  "Hey, did you get my present?"

                Cari nodded and held up the box containing the metallic silver quill that had arrived from Lindsey on Christmas morning.

                "Did you get mine?" she asked.  Lindsey nodded in the direction of the place next to her bed with the revolting box had been replaced with a lumpy yet comfortable cat bed Duffer was currently situating himself on.

                "He loves it!" she said, smiling.  Then at the same time they both asked, "Who's that from?"

                Cari indicated the new black hoodie Lindsey was wearing while Lindsey implied Cari's necklace.

                "This is my Christmas present from Draco!" Cari whispered excitedly, her eyes sparkling.  Lindsey nodded understandably, Cari delighting in showing off the thin silver chain which was molded into the most intricate, delicate chain of leaves- ivy, it looked like.  Accenting the silver were exquisitely carved emeralds, a shimmering green.  Of course, Cari would have adored it if it were made of plastic.

                "And what about yours?" Cari prompted teasingly.  "Does Lindsey have a little boy toy of her own?"

                "Ew, no!" Lindsey cried, though smiling: she hadn't seen Cari in this good of a mood in quite some time.  "This is from Professor Snape."

                "Really?" Cari asked, raising her eyebrows.  "You guys are, uh… pretty good friends now, huh?"

                "Uh-huh," Lindsey plopped back down on her bed, hugging the sweatshirt to herself.  It was the first Christmas present she had gotten in at least five years, though probably more.  It's hard to get Christmas presents when you can't even buy food.

                "He's a good guy," she finally said.

                "Whatever you say…" Cari said, looking at Lindsey like she was crazy, and turning to organize her things before going to bed- classes were to begin the very next day, after all, throwing them immediately back into the same old schedule.

                "Wow, I didn't realize how very much I enjoyed not being here!" Lindsey whispered aggravatedly as she and Cari took their seats in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom that Wednesday.

                "Careful, he might have another jinx on your desk," Cari reminded her mischievously.  Lindsey looked around warily.

                "I wouldn't put it past him," she muttered darkly.

                "Yeah, how did that detention with him go?" Lisa asked, taking the seat on her other side.  Lindsey shrugged.

                "About at much fun as having all of your appendages chopped off one by one," she grumbled.  Cari looked disapproving but Lindsey didn't miss the grin that flickered across her lips.  Lisa put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

                "Hey, you're not going to disown me for saying that?" Lindsey asked in feigned surprise.

                "Yeah, whatever happened to 'Oh, Professor Balbossa is so hot!'?" Cari asked, mimicking Lisa exaggeratedly.  Lisa smiled sheepishly.

                "I just realized how stupid I was being," she said.  "And he said he's seen muggles hit balls better than me!"

                Since the start of classes after Christmas break Paige had finally been ejected from the Ravenclaw quidditch team on account of her poor grades.  Lisa Turpin was now Ravenclaw's second Beater, and she was loving it.

                The girls all continued chatting until the bell sounded and Professor Balbossa walked in and began another long-winded lesson.  The period could not have ended too soon.

                "Good Lord does that man love to hear himself talk or what?" Lindsey cried as she walked with Cari and Lisa to the Great Hall for supper, Pippy and Kristin coming to join them.

                "Are you talking about Professor Balbossa?" Pippy asked.  They all nodded.  "Yeah, that guy never shuts up!"  They all laughed.  Apparently whatever attraction there had been with Professor Balbossa had worn off as gold paint wears off of what you thought to be a solid gold necklace, and is really just a hunk of lead.

                Lindsey's rogue feat of jinxing seemed to be what broke the spell the feigningly French professor had held over practically all the witches in school, but especially for her.  No longer was she afraid to speak in his class, and no longer did he dare to hit her with his pointer.  The humiliations in front of the class had stopped too.  Lindsey thought of all this and smiled smugly to herself.  _Sticking up for yourself pays off,_ she thought happily.

                Eating dinner in the Great Hall the good mood high everyone was on from winter holidays was apparent in the general jolly animation of conversation.  Someone to Cari's left told a joke that caused that whole end of the table to burst into laughter.  Suddenly Cari's head snapped up.

                She recognized that laughter.  She recognized it from that night so long ago when she and Lindsey had been looking for Duffer…

                Sharply she turned her head to see who it was that was laughing like that.  Immediately she gasped in surprise and averted her gaze.  Cautiously she looked up to see Lindsey looking at her quizzically; she just shook her head.

                No, it couldn't be him, she tried to convince herself.  There has to be more than one person who laughs like that!  And yet… somehow Cari knew that that just wasn't the case.

                And so the days passed as they had before Christmas, the snow eventually melted and quidditch resumed.  However as the weather sweetened the disposition of the fifth years soured as everyone stressed to cram for O.W.L.S, even Lindsey.  As the dreaded tests drew near she and Snape increased their tutoring sessions to Monday through Friday, still trying to accomplish the amazing feat of five years of wizarding school jammed into one.  Considering the circumstances Lindsey wasn't doing so badly.

                However that did nothing to improve her mood, nor anyone else's.

                Cari constantly either had her nose in a book or her wand in her hand; she even stopped seeing Draco in the evenings to focus all her energies on studying.  Lindsey was jumpier than a rabbit in a wolf den, constantly staring wide-eyed into space and talking to herself.  Any time someone spoke to her during one of her studious reveries she would jump a foot in the air and shout out a random fact, spell, or potion ingredient.

                Lisa looked to need quite a bit more sleep as dark circles grew under her eyes and she bit off anyone's head who tried to speak to her in the morning.  Not only did she have O.W.L.S to worry about but Ravenclaw was in the running for the Quidditch Cup and all of this stress was taking its toll. 

                It was like this for all the fifth years, and every other year tended to avoid them.  And second by second exam time drew closer.


	26. The End of All Things

Well, here it is everybody, the beginning of the end: the last chapter (though there is an epilogue). The chapter title is totally ripped off from Lord of the Rings but I love that too and I thought it fitting. I'm apologizing now for any small plot inconsistencies; you see, I wrote the end before I finished the middle and was so anxious to just get to the grand conclusion that I forgot to add a few tiny things. I also apologize for just totally skipping over the spring season, but you know, JK Rowling tends to do that too. Final note: I know this is lengthy but I just couldn't chop up the ending.

So there you are! I hope it lives up to all your expectations, my dear faithful readers! I was practically crying while writing this; maybe that's just because I've grown so very deeply attached to the characters. Well, it's my hope that it will inspire similar strong emotions in you (perhaps that's a bit too much to ask…) In any case: here's Garth Algar, signing out.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-six- The End of All Things

Severus was surprised to see Lindsey running towards him the evening of the last day of O.W.L.S. With the way she had worked and stressed over those tests he was surprised she hadn't just passed out from exhaustion.

But no, now she seemed to have plenty of energy, beaming as she sprinted down the hallway.

"I passed!" she cried ecstatically as she met up with him. "I passed my O.W.L.S!" She was practically bursting with joy. Snape smiled half-heartedly and shook his head at her euphoria.

"Good," was all he said.

"Professor?" she asked confusedly as he charged past her, her face falling. She had hoped he would be proud. Or at least relieved. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"I'm just a bit… preoccupied right now, Lindsey," he said shortly but apologetically, striding past her.

"Hey!" She ran to catch up with him. "Aren't I entitled to an explanation?"

Snape looked at her with a strained, distracted expression, seeming to want to say something, then thought better of it and remained silent.

"Professor!"

Lindsey ran to catch up with him again, then stayed with him, keeping pace but barely.

"What is going on?"

"There's been another attack," he finally said reluctantly, looking at her sidelong.

"The Death-eaters?"

Snape nodded.

"What happened?" Lindsey asked gravely. Her heart sank and her good mood vanished; it was bad this time- she could see it in his eyes.

"A teacher has been abducted," he answered tensely.

"Oh!" Lindsey gasped, stopping abruptly. Then she had to run yet again to catch up with him still going at his break-neck speed.

"So why are you handling it? Shouldn't, you know, Dumbledore do it or something? Or Professor Balbossa?"

Snape scowled at her.

"Well, he is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," she said apologetically.

"He's the one that's been taken," Snape snorted disdainfully. Lindsey was hardly surprised.

_Yup, that seems like something that bozo would get himself into,_ she thought cynically. Still however Snape maintained his stony silence, plowing on beside her.

"Well, are you going to tell me what you plan on doing about it?" she finally asked, stepping in front of him, blocking his path, forcing him to stop.

He looked at her with a pained expression on his face.

"Look, Lindsey… I can't tell you." And with that he pushed past her and was on his way again.

"You won't find them that way," she called suddenly from behind him. "The Death-eaters, I mean." Snape stopped dead and turned around slowly.

"What?" He walked back to her and she spoke low and quickly.

"There's a statue on the fourth floor, of a… a witch, I think… anyway, it pushes aside to reveal a staircase. Follow the staircase and you'll come to a big room; that's where they meet."

"Wait- how do you know this?" Snape asked incredulously.

"Never mind how I know- you'll just have to trust me!" she insisted, beginning to push him gently in the right direction. Snape seemed reluctant but he began to speed down that way nonetheless, Lindsey following in his wake.

"Wait a second, you're not coming!" Snape said, noticing her presence. "Go back to your commonroom and stay there!"

"I'm going with you," Lindsey said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No you're not," Snape replied shortly.

"Yes, I am."

"There's nothing you can do!"

"I can help!"

"No!" Snape stopped with an exasperated sigh and put his hands on her shoulders. "You are not coming," he said with finality.

"Look, I can show you where it is," she said, taking his hands off gently. "We can get there a lot faster." And with that she took off running down the corridor. Snape just stood, looking after her. Then she tripped on the hem of her robes, sending her sprawling head first, sliding several feet down the hallway. Getting up she looked around embarrassedly.

"Well? You coming?" she asked agitatedly, blushing under her veil of hair. Snape stifled a smile and took off after her.

"Here, this is the one," Lindsey said when they had reached the statue Cari had shown her.

"Now will you tell me how on earth you know about this?" Snape asked breathlessly, having just sprinted to the fourth floor from the dungeons and taking out his wand.

"We don't have time for that right now," she muttered, pushing against the statue with all her strength, grunting with exertion, feet sliding on the smooth marble floor. But the statue wouldn't budge.

Snape walked slowly around it and, as Lindsey took a break, gasping for air, pushed against the other side. The statue slid over with ease.

"Oh, well, that works," she said, still catching her breath. Snape looked down the staircase just revealed with wonder and apprehension. He turned to Lindsey with a fierce gleam in his eyes.

"Now you stay here," he said forcefully, starting down the hole.

"No," she replied just as forcefully, her eyes burning. "I am not about to let you take on a room full of Death-eaters on your own!" Snape raised his eyebrows in surprise at her passion.

"Not that you couldn't handle it of course," she added quickly.

Snape closed his eyes and took a big breath and seemed to be going against his better judgment as he said, "Fine."

Lindsey jumped quickly into the hole after him, smiling at her victory in their battle of wills. Snape uttered a spell Lindsey couldn't make out and the statue slid over their heads, plunging them into darkness.

"Lumos!" Lindsey uttered and smiled at Snape as her wand tip burst into flame. Snape just scowled at her and turned back to begin down the foreboding stairway.

"What else do you know about this place?" he whispered as they descended.

"Not much, really," she replied.

Then they reached the bottom of the stops. With the utmost stealth they turned into the room, wands raised, the stopped in shock at what they saw.

Nothing.

"What?! They should be here!" Lindsey cried, dropping her wand arm she had poised for action disappointedly. Snape however did not let his guard down whatsoever.

"Take a look around," he ordered quietly, gazing about the dusty room warily. "And be careful." He threw her a meaningful look. Lindsey nodded.

The two walked cautiously about the cavernous empty room, not finding much. Then Lindsey saw something piled in the corner.

"Professor! Look at this!" she called. Snape ran over and Lindsey picked up one of the items.

"Professor Balbossa's stolen things," he said in answer to her questioning gaze. She nodded and replaced the jar, then gasped. There in the corner was a Starblaze 250. Only one person she knew of owned a Starblaze.

"What the…?"

"Lindsey, wait-" But it was too late. Both of them reached for the broom and the second they touched it the room exploded around them, wind rushing by their ears, and both feeling a none too pleasant abdominal sensation as of a hook pulling from just above the navel. The broom was a Portkey.

Lindsey shook her dizzy and confused head, trying to clear her vision while Snape looked around the room they had both just been dropped in.

It was a large room, quite possibly larger than the one they had just left, heavily draped in crimson velvet with gothic candelabras everywhere, casting eerie, deceptive shadows. The broom sat next to Lindsey: a two-way Portkey. Then Snape noticed Lindsey gesturing wildly, seemingly speaking, though no sound was coming out. He himself tried to speak but to no avail. Suddenly a movement behind Lindsey caught his eye, a person, and she turned around, following his gaze. She gasped in surprise as she recognized who it was.

Rupert Render.

He wasn't wearing his glasses and his red hair was slicked back from his face; he grin was no longer charming but frightening, and the look in his eyes made Lindsey's stomach drop. She opened her mouth to speak, but of course couldn't.

"Professor Balbossa's silent charms certainly came in handy," he said. His voice was lower than usual and sleek as a serpent. Lindsey followed his gaze to see Professor Balbossa tied unconscious to a pole to one side of the room.

With one wave of Rupert's wand two more poles appeared and Lindsey felt herself being lifted and her hands and feet being bound at the same time. Before she could respond at all she and Snape were tied magically to the poles, their wands in Rupert's hand.

"Well now, let's see," he said, speaking as if he were making conversation at tea, though still with that unnerving gleam in his eyes. "Lindsey Wormtongue, isn't it? Yes… and Professor Snape! How funny you should be here, Severus!" He laughed, giggled really, and Lindsey felt her skin crawl.

"Why is that?" Snape spat. Obviously the silence charm had been lifted.

"Well, you see, I had set a trap in your office to bring you here. Unfortunately, this fellow"- he jerked his head at Balbossa- "sprung it first. Really Severus, you should put better locking charms on your office door!" He smiled that disgusting smile.

"But why did you want me here?" Snape asked. Lindsey sensed he was simply stalling for time, mind racing as to what to do.

"Because, silly," Rupert began lightly, sounding for all the world like a cat playing with its as-good-as-dead prey. "Lord Voldemort found out about you, Severus. And he doesn't like it when his followers betray him."

At Lindsey's gasp Rupert looked at her sharply.

"My, my, you never told her? Tsk, tsk… Why not tell her now, ey Sev?"

Snape glared venom at Rupert, for using that idiotic nickname and for bringing this up.

"Well, we're waiting," Rupert said with mock impatience. "If you don't tell her, I will."

Snape glared at him again; if looks could kill, Rupert and everyone within a mile radius would be pushing up daisies.

He took a deep breath, knowing this would be hard. Then he looked up into Lindsey's eyes, the only eyes that had ever looked at him quite like that and lost all reserve. He couldn't tell this girl that had such faith in him, that looked up to him so, that he was a Death-eater. Luckily, then Rupert did it for him. Snape glared at him once more, then at the ground, waiting for Lindsey's reply.

"I know," she said softly. Snape's head shot up in surprise.

"You… you know?"

Lindsey nodded. "Since before Christmas."

Snape just blinked. She knew… and she didn't care… He turned to see her looking at him sadly.

"Aw, spoil all my fun!" Rupert pouted petulantly. "But no matter; back to business." Here he began to circle them slowly as he spoke.

"You know, I've been trying to think of a suitable punishment for you since Lord Voldemort told me of your treachery. Lucius should be arriving here soon… perhaps he'll have some ideas." Rupert stopped and stared at them contemplatively. Snape tensed as he sensed Balbossa stir behind him, and hoped Rupert hadn't noticed.

He hadn't. He had been staring at Lindsey intently, when his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Do you know," he spoke cunningly, "what Lord Voldemort also told me? After telling me what a traitor you are, of course, Severus. It had to do with you, Miss Wormtongue… and the rather untimely death of your parents."

Lindsey stiffened and Rupert smiled coldly.

"What are you talking about?" she asked sharply.

"Surely you remember, Severus?" he asked him, striding to Lindsey. "After all, who could forget those stunning eyes?" He spoke softly and lifted her chin in his hand, the fingertips of the other brushing back her hair and sliding down her cheek, their faces very close. Lindsey jerked away from his touch contemptuously.

"What is he talking about Professor?" she asked, unable to keep the anxiety from her voice. Looking to Snape she was horrified to see the fear now in his eyes as he looked fiercely at Rupert.

"Yes, Professor, why don't you tell her? After all, you were there," Rupert hissed, grinning widely.

"What?" Lindsey tried to look at Snape but his eyes were closed, his face twisted into a grimace as if in pain.

"She really doesn't remember? Poor thing… The mind does tend to block out extreme trauma such as that. You didn't think it was true because she thought she was born in America," Rupert spoke softly, glaring at Snape. "There had to be more than one family name 'Wormtongue' you figured. But you were wrong."

"No…no, it can't be!" Snape said more to himself, though hardly sounding as sure.

"Oh yes it can, Severus! It can and it is!" Rupert spat with a smile.

"What is he talking about, Professor?" Lindsey whispered.

"Tell her then, Severus, tell her about the night her parents died," Rupert continued, his voice rising. "Tell her how you were there. Tell her how you killed her parents!"

He turned now to Lindsey, his eyes burning.

"No… No! No- you're a liar!" she shouted. She turned to Snape, on the verge of hysterics, her eyes pleading. "Isn't he?"

Snape finally looked into her blazing eyes helplessly. Rupert smiled, baring his teeth, enjoying their suffering immensely, beginning to circle them again as he spoke.

"Well I happened to get to see it myself- Lord Voldemort is a wonderful Legilimens you know; I saw it all quite clearly." He emphasized the last two words, pausing cruelly, his eyes sparkling malevolently before he continued, speaking now only to Lindsey.

"Your father was the first to die, getting the much better fate, let me assure you. He tried to fight three Death-eaters and Lord Voldemort himself! Some called him 'brave'- really he was just stupid.

"After he was out of the way it was just your mother, who they tortured, but could not get to reveal the location of the Order of the Phoenix; she'd never give it up… at least, not by those means of… persuasion." Here Rupert smiled like a snake, and Lindsey, though already chilled, felt a shiver run down her spine.

"As I said, Lord Voldemort is a superb Legilimens, and he very easily found that the Wormtongues had a daughter. Five years old, I think you were? Well, finding you wasn't hard- you were hiding behind the couch watching everything. Poor dear." Rupert stretched out a hand to stroke her hair and again she jerked away. He smiled, seeming to be enjoying this very much.

"What the Death-eaters did then may not have been what I would have chosen to do, but I still commend them on their creativity. They dragged your mother outside after you were locked in a closet, then set the house on fire! The closet door had been jinxed so that your mother could hear every one of your screams as if you were right there."

Lindsey swallowed as a tear slid down her face.

"Only later did they find out the information lay with a Secret-keeper," he went on. "So even if your mother had survived the torture she could never have told us.

"But I'm sure you're wondering how beloved Professor Snape fits in, aren't you? Well, you already know Severus was a Death-eater, and that night- he was there. In fact…" He paused as if thinking, sounding happier than ever. "I do believe he was the one who spoke the curse that killed your father…"

And then- Lindsey remembered.

She could see it all in the mind's eye of her memory, living her recurring nightmare. She could see her father's face as he died clear as day, the scene replayed in her mind against her will, felt the scream that had welled up in her breast. These memories had been repressed for ten years but now she couldn't stop the flood. No longer seeing or hearing the real world around her she instead bore witness yet again to her mother's torture.

* * *

"Why are you doing this?" Snape cried in anguish, Rupert smiling over Lindsey's form, twisted in agony. "She didn't do anything! It's me you want to punish!"

"Oh but I am…" Rupert said, smiling cruelly.

Snape cringed as Lindsey let out a sob.

"I remember…" she murmured tearfully. "I remember it all."

"And now," Rupert cried, still speaking to Snape. "You can watch her die- like she was supposed to!"

Lindsey could just hear Snape's muffled yell before the world burst into flame before her eyes. It was just like in her dream; just like it had been ten years ago. She was back in the dark closet and the flames were licking at the door, the ceiling. She started to cry, started to scream. Her lungs filled with smoke and she was racked by a fit of coughing. A piece of flaming wood from the ceiling fell next to her and she ran to the other side of the crampt room, collapsing in fire around her.

How had she escaped that day? All she could remember was what happened before- yet she had to have gotten out somehow. And more importantly, how was she going to get out now?

She jumped as the door creaked; leaning in on it's melting hinges, wood ablaze. Lindsey coughed again and it hit her: she was going to die here.

It was so hot, she thought she might pass out from the heat and it would all be over then. The haze of smoke was thick but not thick enough to shield her eyes from the blinding blaze of the inferno that surrounded her. Briefly she wondered if this was what hell was like. What she could actually see started to swim before her eyes and she could feel herself falling. She wanted to give up, to let go; she wanted to die now.

Then she saw movement outside the door. Eyes watering from the smoke and intense heat she squinted to see what it was.

_No, it can't be…_ she thought. But it was.

Severus Snape.

Lindsey's eyes closed as her mind jolted back ten years ago to a little girl locked in the closet of a burning house. A man had saved her, had come in and taken her out and stayed with her outside until the firemen had come when he just… disappeared.

The two men were actually one and the same.

* * *

Snape remembered that day. He hadn't known it then but that was one of the last "jobs" he went on. He remembered the little girl whose father he had just killed, and who he was now locking in a closet.

He remembered her eyes.

Outside they had tortured her mother, but it was not only she who suffered; the screams from inside the closet could be heard by all. Then… then her mother died, and the others left; he said he would catch up and before he knew what he was doing he was going back into the house for the little girl.

He had carried her, coughing and crying, outside onto the grass. She had clung to him sobbing, but he had pushed her off and moved away, disapparating as soon as the muggle firefighters arrived, never to see the little girl again.

Until now.

* * *

Snape coughed, covering his mouth with the sleeve of his robe.

"Give me your hand!"

Lindsey could just make out the muffled yell. As she reached out to clasp his outstretched hand the door fell in completely, causing Lindsey to jump backwards with a scream. She looked back towards Snape now seeing him through a wall of flames. He was shouting something but she couldn't understand over the deafening roar of the inferno surrounding them.

"What?" she yelled back.

"Jump!"

She hesitated only a moment, then jumped through the fire. She made it through and Snape grasped her hand and began pulling her away, but her long robes had caught on the incinerating door. She heard a rip as the fabric gave way, burning.

Being dragged through the firestorm by Snape, she screamed as the floor suddenly gave way and she felt them falling, falling-

Then the fire was gone and they were back in the shadowy candle-lit room.

Lindsey gazed around wildly, then looked at Snape, panting, face smudged with ash.

"Oh Professor!" The cry wrenched painfully from her smoke-filled throat. She ran forward and threw her arms around him, burying her head in his robes, her thin body racked with tears.

And this time, Snape did not push her away.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" he murmured into her hair, over and over, almost to tears himself; of everything he had done as a Death-eater, there was nothing he regretted more.

He held her head to his chest protectively, stroking her hair, embracing her tightly as if he'd never let go, the fierce love of a father burning in his chest.

"How touching," a breathless voice behind them spat in disgust. Snape turned his head to see Rupert, panting and bleeding from a gash on his head, then behind him Jon Balbossa, sprawled on the floor, wand hanging limply from his hand.

"I know I was to wait for Voldemort," Rupert whispered dangerously, pointing his wand, all levity gone from his voice. "But I'm really going to enjoy killing you!"

Snape braced himself in front of the still-sobbing Lindsey, holding her tighter, knowing the next- and last- words he would hear would be the Death Curse.

"Avada Kedava!"

Snape opened his eyes. He wasn't dead. And he swore the curse had been uttered by more than one person. He whirled around to see both Rupert and Balbossa lying on the floor in crumpled, lifeless heaps. They had both said the curse at the same time, and they had both met the same fate. Suddenly a voice sounded from the shadows, a silky voice Snape recognized all too well.

"Really, Rupert," Lucius said to the red-headed corpse. "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you get yourself killed. No wonder Lord Voldemort wanted me here to supervise.

"And Severus-" He now turned toward Snape, standing in front of Lindsey, who was sniffling and roughly wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I do believe Lord Voldemort wishes to see you." He glared at him icily. Then he noticed Lindsey.

"Who is this?" he asked, his eyes flickering briefly back to Snape.

"Lindsey Wormtongue," she said, stepping out from behind him.

"Wormtongue…?" Lucius paused in thought, looking between her and Severus. Then recognition dawned on his face. "Is this… the girl from…? Remarkable that you lived. I remember your parents quite well." He smiled evilly. "You know, it's fitting, almost… poetic, really, that you shall be meeting the same end as them."

With that Lucius raised his wand and-

"No!"

Suddenly a girl in a Death-eater mask jumped in front of his wand.

"Cari, what are you doing?" Lucius cried angrily, quickly lowering his wand.

"Cari?!" Lindsey exclaimed in surprise.

Slowly the girl lowered her hood and took off her mask.

"It's me," she said, smiling pathetically.

"Well… wh-what are you doing here?" Lindsey asked incredulously. Cari shifted uncomfortably and didn't answer for a long time.

"I came with Draco," she finally replied haltingly. And indeed Draco was now there in front of Lucius.

"Lindsey, we've got to get out of here," Snape suddenly whispered behind her. Lindsey took instant note of the strain and urgency in his voice.

"Come on Cari, let's go," she said gesturing to her friend. She was surprised to see Cari hesitate.

"Cari!" she yelled. "You're not… you're not staying… are you?" Cari stared hard at the ground, not meeting her eyes.

"These people killed my parents, Cari!" she shrieked hysterically. "If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be an orphan!" Tears had again sprung to her eyes and she couldn't suppress a sob.

Cari looked up in surprise.

"What?"

Lindsey shook her head, unwilling and unable to tell Cari the details. It took all she had to just get a hold of herself and not break down sobbing again. She started slightly as she felt Snape put his hand on her shoulder, moving closer reassuringly. At last she was able to look up at Cari again.

"Cari… please," Lindsey whispered imploringly.

Cari looked at her friend's tear-stained face, pain-filled eyes- her best friend.

Then she looked back at Draco, so strong and handsome in the candlelight. And Lucius, chin up and commanding- her father; she realized it now. This was the way it had to be.

Agonizingly slowly Cari looked at the ground, then, as she stood firmly next to Draco and Lucius, Draco took her hand, and she raised her eyes to look directly into Lindsey's.

The choice was made.

Lindsey's mouth was open and eyes shining with tears, a living portrait of betrayal. A single tear slid down her cheek. Cari gazed evenly back at her, unwavering, though tears sparkled in her eyes as well. Draco squeezed her hand supportively.

"Come on, Lindsey," Snape whispered, pulling her back gently. Lindsey shook her head, tried to resist, just looking at Cari, not able to comprehend her perfidy.

"I can't just let you leave Severus," Lucius said cogently, raising his wand once again.

"Father…"

Lucius glared sharply at his son who gestured to Cari, and Lucius's glare softened to a scowl. Angrily he dropped his wand arm again.

"When we got here it was too late," he said tersely, glaring intently at Snape. "Rupert and Balbossa were dead and you two were gone."

Snape nodded ever so slightly in gratitude, and he and Lindsey grabbed the broomstick, and were gone.


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue

"And the winner of the House Cup is… Hufflepuff!"

Raucous applause erupted from the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall as Dumbledore announced their victory at the end of year feast. The rest of the students clapped half-heartedly, if at all.

"Damn Hufflepuffs," Lisa muttered resentfully, glaring daggers in their direction. Hufflepuff had completely come out of nowhere and beaten Ravenclaw to the Quidditch Cup, winning that too. Lisa still hadn't cooled off about it. Pippy patted her on the back.

"There's always next year, mate," she said reassuringly. Lisa simply snorted in response and stabbed violently at a slice of eggplant on her plate. Pippy craned to look down the table.

"Hey, where's Rupert?" she asked curiously. Lindsey shrugged, then suddenly became incredibly fascinated with the lima beans on her plate. Cari looked around furtively from her seat on the other side of Lisa, remaining silent.

"I haven't seen him," Kristin said, furrowing her brow. "That's strange…"

"I think he left early," Cari piped in suddenly. They turned to look at her. "I hear he was, uh… asked to study dragons in Romania, and left before the graduation ceremony."

"Oh, like Ron's brother?" Pippy asked.

"Yeah, sure." Cari had no idea who Ron was.

"That's too bad," Pippy said sadly. "I wanted to say good-bye to him."

"To Ron?"

"No! To Rupert."

"Pippy's got a thing for redheads," Lisa said, smiling devilishly. Pippy elbowed her as she blushed a bright pink, though she was smiling.

"Hey, you know who else isn't here?" Kristin said, craning her head to get a look at the staff table. "Professor Balbossa!"

"Can't say I'm sorry to see him go," Lisa muttered.

"I heard he got offered a better job off in America or something," Pippy said in a conspiratorial tone.

"You're very quiet, Lindsey," Kristin said, trying to get her in on the conversation. Again Lindsey just shrugged and seemed intent on her food.

The other girls chattered on about their plans for the summer and the Quidditch World Cup and things such as that, a grand and light-hearted end to the year… for everyone but Cari and Lindsey.

They hadn't spoken since last night, and didn't speak to each other as they packed their things. Lindsey blinked away tears as she lay down in bed and realized this was the first night that they didn't say good-night to each other. Over in her bed Cari was thinking the same thing.

The next day they didn't sit together on the train. Cari went with Draco while Lindsey stayed with Pippy, Kristin, and Lisa, though she wasn't much for conversation. She had overslept the next morning and had to run around like a madwoman to get to the train before it pulled out of the station at Hogsmeade, not realizing until she had safely boarded that she hadn't gotten to say good-bye to Professor Snape.

She now stared glumly out at the sunny fields of green rushing past the windows in a blur, quite a different view than when she and Cari first came on the rainy day last fall; it seemed like a lifetime ago. Glumly Lindsey wondered where she would be staying for the summer; undoubtedly not with the Greens. She knew very well that she could survive living on the streets if necessary, though just barely; and it certainly wasn't her first choice. She wondered darkly if homeless people were the same here in England as in New York City. She wasn't sure.

Slowly but surely the time passed, the other girls eventually growing subdued in their own thoughts. Pippy sat stroking her new Starblaze 250 lovingly; Lindsey had presented her with it after the feast last night.

"Here," she said, handing her the broom. "I saw Rupert before he left yesterday and he said he wanted you to have this. He hasn't got much use for it in Romania after all." She forced her crooked smile. Pippy beamed and accepted the broom with such reverence it was almost comical.

As the train lurched to a stop at Platform 9 ¾ Lindsey jerked awake, surprised that she had fallen asleep. She, Pippy, Kristin, and Lisa all got off the train and were swept up in a rush of "Have a good summer!" and "I'll see you next year!" and "Be sure to write!" which went on for some time. Though eventually the mass of other fifth years left and Lindsey found herself standing next to Cari.

"So… I guess… this is good-bye?" Cari said awkwardly. Lindsey nodded. "Do you have a place to stay?" Cari asked.

"Yes," Lindsey lied. Now Cari nodded; Lindsey was a much better liar than her.

"Cari-" Lindsey started, then stopped abruptly as Draco came up behind her.

"What?" Cari prompted.

"Nothing," Lindsey muttered shaking her head. Cari looked about to say something when from somewhere down the platform Lucius Malfoy's unmistakable voice sounded.

"Cari! Draco! Down here!"

"Coming, Father!" Cari called as Draco turned. Lindsey blinked. Cari turned and looked her right in the eyes.

"Good-bye Lindsey," she said softly.

"See you," she replied half-heartedly, not even bothering to force a smile.

And with that the two parted ways.

Lindsey watched them run down the platform, watched Cari embrace Lucius warmly. She had called him father. To Lindsey, the Malfoys didn't seem to her to be a very huggy family. She knew Cari would change all that.

Sighing, Lindsey began to shuffle in a random direction, dragging her things behind her, Duffer mewing plainitively from his new, cleaner box. She had no idea where she was going.

"Lindsey!"

She stopped dead as she heard someone call her name. Slowly, hardly daring to turn lest she find out she had been imagining things, she turned towards the sound. She could only stare as she watched Professor Snape run towards her, speechless. Severus couldn't say anything right away when he caught up with her either; he took a brief moment to catch his breath, then looked at her staring poignantly back at him.

"You don't have anywhere to stay, do you?" he finally asked. She shook her head, her eyes shining with unwanted tears.

"Well… how would you like to stay with me?"

Lindsey couldn't believe her ears. Was she hallucinating? Then she looked right into his eyes which she was surprised to find staring intensely back at her anxiously.

Slowly Snape watched as that comically crooked grin that he was surprised to find he had grown to love so much spread across her face, transforming her solemn features quite dramatically.

Without further hesitation she threw her arms around him and they embraced like father and daughter; for the first time in her life she had a father, and for the first time he wouldn't be alone.

"Thank you," she finally managed, drawing back. She looked at Snape to find him smiling.

"What?" Snape asked. He had come to be able to read her as well as she could him, and knew now that she had something to say.

"Well, it's just… last night- everything's a little fuzzy. What exactly happened after I…I…" She couldn't even bring herself to say it. But Snape understood.

"Professor Balbossa," he said easily.

"What?" Lindsey looked up at him bemusedly.

"Professor Balbossa distracted Rupert, giving me the chance to free myself as well. And then I went after you and… the rest you probably know as well as I do."

Lindsey paused thoughtfully, the two beginning to walk slowly.

"Kind of makes me sorry for jinxing him," she murmured with a rueful smile. A shadow of a grin flashed over Snape's face as well.

"It does," he agreed softly. They had finally reached the end of the platform now, and were about to turn onto the street.

"So, where do you live?" Lindsey asked merrily, trying to lift the somber mood now that they both had reason to be happy.

"In a house," he answered simply.

"No, really?" she asked sarcastically. "Where is this house of yours?"

"It's on Grimmauld Place."

"I don't know where that is."

"No, you wouldn't know where that is."

"Do you live by yourself?"

"No."

"So, what? Are some of the other professors there or something?"

"Yes, sort of. Some people I'd really like you to meet…"

And so Lindsey slowly disappeared in the reverse route of the one what Cari had taken, a small representation of their own story: two girls starting out from the same place, then going in completely opposite directions.

Though in the grand conclusion, in their own separate ways, each story had a happy ending.


End file.
